
Qass- 
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REPORT 

OF THE ^7^^ 

NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION 

ON 

CONGESTION 
OF POPULATION 



TransmitteJ to tke 

MAYOR ana THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN 
FEBRUARY 28, 1911 



NEW YORK: 

LKCOUVER PRESS COMPANY, 

i\'o. 51 Vesey Street. 

39J1. 



^ 



NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION. 



The Hon. Jacob A. Cantor, Chairman. 
Alderman James E. Campbell, Vice-Chairman. 



Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 
Alderman 



Stephen Callaghan, 
Alexander Dujat, 
William Fink, 
James Hamilton, 
Tristam B. Johnson, 
James J. Mulhearn, 
W. Augustus Shipley, 
Edwin W. Sohmer, 
Louis Wendel, Jr. 



John Adikes, 

Russell Bleecker, 

Clement J. Driscoll, 

Gilbert Elliott, 

John J. Flynn, 

Frank J. Goodnow, 

Allan Robinson, 

Charles Schaefer, Jr., 

Benjamin C. Marsh, Secretary. 



^i 



REPORT 

OF THE 

New York City Commission on Congestion of 

Population 

New York, February 28, 1911. 

To the Honorable WILLIAM J. GAYNOR, Mayor of The City of New York, and 
to the Honorable Board of Aldermen of The City of New York: 

Gentlemen — The New York City Commission on Congestion of Population was 
appomted by the Mayor May 17, 1910, in pursuance of the following resolution of 
the honorable Board of Aldermen of The City of New York, adopted April 12, 1910: 

Resolved, That his honor the Mayor be and he is hereby requested to appoint 
a commission of nineteen, of which there shall be ten members of the Board of 
Aldermen, viz. : three from the Borough of Manhattan, two each from the Boroughs 
of Brooklyn, The Bronx and Queens, and one from the Borough of Richmond, to- 
gether with such persons of known experience and prominence, not to exceed the 
number of nine, who shall prepare a comprehensive plan fof the present relief and 
future prevention of congestion of population in The City of New York; that such 
Commission be authorized and empowered to employ such expert assistants as may 
be deemed necessary in the prosecution of the work, and that it shall report to the 
Mayor and the Board of Aldermen within ninety days after appointment by his honor 
the Mayor. By subsequent resolution of the Board of Aldermen, the time to make 
the report was extended to March 14, 1911. 

Upon the organization of your Commission it was deemed advisable to appoint 
the following committees in order to more effectively prosecute the investigations 
which the general problem required, and to make the inquiry as broad and as thor- 
ough as possible : 

1. Committee on Parks, Playgrounds, Schools and Recreation Centres. 

2. Committee on Streets and Highways. 

3. Committee on Transit, Docks and Ferries. 

4. Committee on Housing Conditions, Regulation of Buildings and locating New 
Settlements. 

5. Committee on Factories. 

6. Committee on Taxation. 

7. Committee on Legislation. 

8. Committee on Public Health. 

9. Committee on Immigration. 

10. Committee on Labor and Wages. 

11. Committee on Charities. 

12. Committee on Public Squares and Buildings. 

13. Committee on Crime and Delinquency. 

The Commission as well as the various committees held a large number of meet- 
ings to which invitations were extended to all officials, individuals and societies, in- 
cluding experts, who had any information to impart and who it was believed possessed 
knowledge bearing on any or all subjects relating to the general problem, while the 
Commission itself made its own inquiries, examinations and investigations. In all, 
the Commission held twenty-one meetings and the committees fifty-one meetings. One 
hundred and sixty-four persons appeared, including heads of departments and num- 
erous City officers whose jurisdiction extended over some part of the work con- 
sidered by the Commission. A personal examination was conducted in the congested 
districts of Manhattan and The Bronx, together with a close inspection of the water- 



fronts and the waterways of all the boroughs. The attention of the Commission was 
directed to the extensive plant of the Bush Terminal Company in South Brooklyn 
as being the most recent and successful attempt to locate a new settlement for fac- 
tories, housing for persons employed therein, distribution of merchandise both by rail 
and water to serve as an object lesson as to what could be done in the way of remov- 
ing families from congested districts and furnishing them better and healthier housings 
elsewhere, by removing factories from the same congested neighborhood. 

While the field of investigation was extensive, as will be noted, it was deemed 
wise to cover every civic proposition which related directly or indirectly to the several 
problems under consideration. The statistics presented in this report were either 
official or were derived from the most trustworthy sources. 

The Commission therefore submits this report under five separate and distinct 
headmgs, namely : 

I. Conditions of Congestion of Population Generally Throughout the City. 

II. Effects of Congestion of Population and Room Overcrowding. 

III. Causes of Congestion and Room Overcrowding. 

IV. Methods Adopted both in This Country and in Foreign Countries to prevent 
Congestion of Population and Room Overcrowding. 

V. Recommendations for Relieving the Present and Preventing Future Con- 
gestion of Population and Room Overcrowding in This City. 

We also submit proposed legislative bills and aldermanic ordinances embodying 
such recommendations as in the judgment of the Commission will, if 
enacted into law, prove effective. We also submit the full reports of the various 
committees with their statements and recommendations to the Commission. 

The Commission have also much material which they have not presented but 
which is at the disposition of the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen, 

I. Conditions of Congestion of Population Throughout the City. 

It is necessary at the beginnmg of this report to distinguish between "concentra- 
tion" of population and "congestion" of population. The former term implies the 
presence within a limited area of a large population; the latter term, the overloading 
of land. Thus it would be possible to have in the 209,218 acres of Greater New York 
10,460,900 people with a density of only 50 to the acre throughout the City, or more 
than twice the present population. This would represent marked concentration of 
population, but with any even distribution of population throughout the five bor- 
oughs would not involve any congestion of population. New York City might have a 
much larger population within its present boundaries without any congestion. 

Congestion of population is a term about the meaning of which there is undoubt- 
edly great difference of opinion. In this report the term will be used as indicative of 
conditions of population which are conducive to insanitary or immoral living. The 
sections in which such conditions exist will be designated as "Congested Sections." 

It may at the outset be stated that there is no legal limit set to the population 
which may exist in the City, with two exceptions : 

First : By the Factory Law at least 250 cubic feet of air must be provided for 
each worker. 

Second: The Tenement House Law requires that rooms in tenement houses shall 
not be so overcrowded that there shall be afforded less than 400 cubic feet of air 
to each adult and 200 cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of age occupy- 
ing such rooms. 

While there are thus no legal limits set to the number of people who may either 
work or live in the City or any particular section thereof, the structural requirements 
of the building law combined with certain requirements of the Tenement House Law, 
limit the population which may be housed in the most congested sections, if these laws 
are complied with. These limits are ordinarily : 

(1) A density of population of 1,300 to the acre (including within that area 
half the acreage of the streets upon which the house stands) in tenements six stories 
high, although double this density is lawful on the widest streets. 

(2) A floor area of 260 square feet and a space of 2,340 cubic feet for each 
apartment; that is, two rooms 7 by 10 feet, and one room 10 by 12 feet with a height 
of 9 feet, clear in all rooms, from floor to ceiling. 

(3) A lot occupancy of ninety per centum of corner lots and seventy per centum 
of interior lots and in exceptional cases of slightly more. 

(4) In six-story tenements under existing laws it is possible that only one room 
out of four will obtain an adequate supply of sunshine. 

These laws have a practical effect, however, only upon tenement houses. Thus it 
is possible to cover an entire plot of land adjacent to a tenement house by a factory 
or warehouse of almost any height. In this way a tenement house may be deprived 



not only of light but of ventilation, for the yards or shafts become enclosed ducts. 
In certain blocks in the Borough of Manhattan no through ventilation can be had 
by reason of the fact that these various buildings surround the tenement house. 

These limits to the population and to the requirements of tenement houses have 
been, it must be remembered, operative only since 1901. As the Tenement House Law 
passed that year was not retroactive in effect, the then existing conditions of conges- 
tion of population, so far as they exceeded the limits fixed by that law, were not 
changed. The result has been that in many sections conditions inferior to those sought 
to be secured by the existing law are still quite commonly to be found. 

Many thousands of the old type of tenement house are still standing in three 
Boroughs with many dark rooms due to the narrowness of light or vent shafts and 
courts, and the height of the buildings. A large proportion of this class of houses 
is located in the older and more densely populated sections of Manhattan. Some of 
these houses have the interior light or vent shafts covered with skylights, and others 
borrow the light for the interior rooms from the outer rooms through windows far 
too small properly to ventilate the outer rooms themselves. 

These efforts to limit by law congestion of population have, however, in many 
cases and in the most congested sections been nullified by the overcrowding of rooms 
beyond the legal limits. 

This overcrowding of rooms is to be found both in the tenement houses of the 
old and new type, and also in the rooms of one- and two-family houses, which under 
the present building laws need not be provided with any means of ventilation to the 
outer air. 

The requirement as to cubic air space which shall be provided for each person 
is so low that the seven (7) by ten (10) foot room which is permitted under the 
Tenement House Law is legally adequate for one adult and one minor under twelve. 

It is a striking fact borne out by the Commission's investigation that it would 
be possible to house practically all of the population of New York City with a normal 
increase for several decades in three-family tenements and two-family houses, and a 
large proportion of the families could have at least a small garden, but notwithstand- 
ing this possibility, conditions in New York are highly congested. In 1901 the greatest 
density of population in any borough of London was 182.3 per acre and for Greater 
London 14.8. 

Mr. Lawrence Veiller, a well-known housing expert, wrote in 1905 : ' No concep- 
tion of the existing conditions can be obtained from any general statements. To say 
that the lower East Side of New York is the most densely populated spot in the 
habitable globe gives no adequate idea of the real conditions. To say that in one 
section of the City the density of population is 1,000 to the acre and that the greatest 
density of population in the most densely populated part of Bombay is but 7S9_to the 
acre, in Prague 485 to the acre, in Paris 434, in London 365, in_ Glasgow 350, in Cal- 
cutta 204, gives one no adequate realization of the state of affairs. No more does it 
to say that in many city blocks on the East Side there is often a population of from 
2,000 to 3,000 persons, a population equal to that of a good-sized village. The only way 
that one can understand the real conditions is to go down into the streets of these 
districts and see the thousands of persons thronging them and making them impass- 
able. So congested have become the conditions of some of the quarters of this City 
that it is not an exaggeration to say that there are more people living there than 
the land or the atmosphere can with safety sustain. The limits have not only been 
reached hut have long been passed." 

In his book, "The Housing Problem," published in 1910, Mr. Veiller makes the 
serious charge : "The conditions in New York are without parallel in the civilized 
world. In no city of Europe, not in Naples nor in Rome, neither in London tior in 
Paris, neither in Berlin, Vienna nor Buda-Pesth, not in Constantinople, nor in St. 
Petersburg, not in ancient Edinburgh nor modern Glasgow, not in heathen Canton nor 
'Bombay, are to be found such conditions as prevail in modern, enlightened, twentieth 
century,' Christian New York. In no other city is the mass of the working population 
Iioused'as it is in New York, in tall tenement houses, extending up into the air fifty 
or sixty feet", and stretching for miles in every direction as far as the eye can reach. 
In no other city are there the same appalling conditions with regard to lack of 
light and air in the homes of the poor. In no other city is there so great congestion 
and overcrowding. In no other city do the poor so suffer from excessive rents ; in no 
other city are the conditions of city life so complex. Nowhere are the evils of modern 
life so varied, nowhere are the problems so difficult of solution." 

The Commission have investigated many phases and conditions of this congestion. 
It is apparent that the congestion to which Mr. Veiller referred in 1905 is increasing 
in the sections of the city which had even in that year the greatest density of popula- 
tion per acre. 



1. Density of Population Per Acre in Large Areas. 

In 1905, 742,135 people lived on 2,418.5 acres south of 14th st. in Manhattan, at a 
density for the entire area of 306.8 per acre. Between 1905 and 1910 the population of 
this area had increased by 27,165 to a total of 769,300, and the density per acre had in- 
creased by 11.2 per acre to 318 per acre. In 1905 18.48 per cent, of the total population 
of New York City were living in 1.15 per cent, of the total area of the City, and by 
1910 this percentage had fallen to 16.13 per cent, of the City's population in spite of 
the fact that the increase in density of the population per acre had increased 11.2 in 
the five years. This increase of population in these five years was five times as great 
as the total number of persons per acre in 1910, in both the Boroughs of Queens and 
of Richmond, and this although during these five years scores of high multiple family 
tenements were torn down for public improvements, notably the approaches of the 
Manhattan and Williamsburgh bridges. 

In 1905 slightly over one-sixth and in 1910 slightly under one-sixth of the City's 
entire population were living below 14th st. in Manhattan on one-eighty-seventh of 
the City's area. It must be borne in mind, too, that in this district are located factories 
employing nearly one-half of the total number of workers in factories in the City and 
,a large proportion of the office buildings of the City. 

In 1910 375,316 people, 7.86 per cent, about one-thirteenth, of the City's population 
lived in the Tenth, Eleventh and the Seventeenth Wards of Manhattan at a density of 
over 600 to the acre, 64,651 people or 1.34 per cent of the City's population lived in the 
Thirteenth Ward of Manhattan at an average density of 591.3 to the acre, 102,108 peo- 
ple, 2.11 per cent, of the City's population, lived in the Seventh Ward of Manhattan, 
at an average density of 495.6 per acre. 

One million four hundred and fifty thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight peo- 
ple, 30.43_per cent., nearly one-third of the City's population, lived in the Twelfth, Fif- 
teenth, Eighteenth and Twenty-second Wards of Manhattan and the Tenth. Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-eighth Wards of Brook- 
lyn, at a density of 100 to 149 to the acre. One million one thousand twenty-three peo- 
ple, 20.99 per cent., approximately one-fifth of the City's population, lived in the Second 
and Third Wards of Manhattan, the Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first and Thirty- 
second Wards of Brooklyn, and in the Boroughs of Richmond, Queens and The Bronx, 
at a density of 25 per acre. The large acreage of the Wards in The Bronx, Richmond 
and Queens, however, makes the densitv per acre of relatively little importance for 
reasons to be discussed later. The Tenth. Eleventh and Seventeenth Wards of Man- 
hattan had an average density of population per acre of over 600, the highest being the 
Seventeenth, with 647.8, while the Thirteenth had 593.1 and the Seventh 495.3. Three 
wards in Manhattan had a density of between 200 and 299, and the Sixteenth Ward 
in Brooklyn 278.8 per acre, while no other wards had a density of over 200 to the acre, 
although five wards in Brooklyn had a densitv of over 140 per acre. The maximum 
density of Queens, in the First Ward, was only 13.3. 

Population of Each Borough in New York in 1900, 1905 and 1910, and Density Per 
Acre and Increase From 1905 to 1910. 

Increase 
in 
Density Density Density Density 

Population Per Population Per Population Per Per 
Borough. 1900. Acre. 1905. Acre. 1910. Acre. Acre 

'Manhattan 1,850.093 131.8 2,1 12.380 149.8 2,231.542 166.1 15.6 

The Bronx 200.507 7.7 271,630 10.4 430,980 16.5 6.1 

Brooklyn 1,166.582 23.48 1,358,686 27.27 1,634,351 32.89 5.5 

Oueens 158.99Q 1.8 198.240 2.3 204,041 2.46 .4 

Richmond 67.021 1.8 72,845 1.9 85,960 2.34 .3 

Greater New York 3,437.202 16.4 4,013,781 19.1 4.766.883 22.7 3.5 



2. Block Density Per Acre in Different Boroughs. 

The density of population per acre of a ward or any large area mav be extremely 
misleadinpr both because the area,': of wards vary so greatlv, as from 78 acres in the 
Second Ward of Manhattan to 30,800 acres in the Fourth Ward of Queens, and because 
a small part of a ward may be very closely built up with high tenements where the 
larger part of the ward is entirely unimproved These facts reduce the density for the 
entire area to a minim.um most misleading. The density of population per acre in 
blocks is therefore probablj' the most accurate measure of actual density. 



/ 

There were in Manhattan, in 1905, 122 blocks with a density of 7bU to the acre, and 
30 blocks with a density of 1,000 or over to the acre, counting in the acreage of such 
blocks one-half of the area of the bounding streets. In 1905 the average density per 
acre of all these blocks was 967, in 1910 it had fallen to 952, a decrease of 15 per acre, 
the population of_ all the blocks had fallen from 308,396 in 1905 to -303,839 in 1910— 
that is, 4,557. Fifty-four of the blocks showed a decrease in population, the most 
marked case being the block bounded by W. 61st and 62d sts., Amsterdam and West 
End aves., whose population fell in the five years from 6,173 to 3,501, a total reduction 
of 2,672, or nearly three-fifths of the total decrease in population of the entire 122 
blocks. The density of population of this block fell from 1,145 to 649 per acre, a reduc- 
tion of 496 per acre. The block with the largest increase in population is that bounded 
by Grand, Broome, Ridge and Pitt sts., whose population increased from 1905 to 1910 
from 1,843 to 2,552 — that is, by 709, and whose density of population increased from 
910 to 1,260. or 350 per acre. This block is in the centre of the congested East Side. 

Of the fifty-four blocks whose population decreased from 1905 to 1910: 
The density per acre of 24 blocks decreased under 50 per acre. 
The density per acre of 14 blocks decreased from SO to 100 per acre. 
The density per acre of 7 blocks decreased from 101 to 200' per acre. 
The density per acre of 1 block decreased from 201 to 300 per acre. 
The 'density per acre of 4 blocks decreased from 300 to 400 per acre. 
The density per acre of 4 blocks decreased over 400 per acre. 

Of the sixty-five blocks whose population increased from 1905 to 1910 : 
The density per acre of 27 blocks increased under 50 per acre. 
The density per acre of 22 blocks increased from 50 to 100 per acre. 
The density per acre of 9 blocks increased from 101 to 200 per acre. 
The density per acre of 5 blocks increased from 300 to 301 per acre. 
The density per acre of 1 block increased over 400. 

The density of population of one block remained stationary, and information could 
not be secured about the other three. 

Only 4 of the 122 blocks which had in 1905 a density of over 750 to the acre are 
above 14th st. 

Of the 114 blocks below 14th st. which had in 1905 a density of 750 or over per 
acre, the population of 62 increased, and of 52 decreased, from 1905 to 1910. The total 
population in these blocks decreased from 1905 to 1910 by 2,393, while the total popula- 
tion south of 14th St. increased 27,165. 

The reasons for the fluctuation of density in blocks are varied in some blocks, as 
has been noted ; buildings were demolished to ma,ke way for public improvements, in 
others tenements have given way to factories and buildings for other business and 
commercial purposes. The most significant points, however, regarding the shifts of 
population below 14th st., in Manhattan — the most congested area in the world — are 
these : Frequently a block whose population has increased materially is only a short 
distance from_ a block whose population has decreased. Only sixteen of the blocks 
whose population decreased had a density of population in 1910 even of under 650 per 
acre, while the density of most of the blocks was still nearly 70O to the acre ; that is, 
they were still congested blocks. On the other hand, nearly half of the blocks over- 
loaded with population in 1905 increased in density by a large percentage in the five 
years under review. 

The deficit in park area, the overcrowding of streets and the evils of overcrowded 
school rooms and part time, are not relieved by the removal of a few hundred people 
from one congested block to another, or by permitting a few hundred new arrivals to 
still further crowd already crowded blocks. The fluctuation of density of 118 blocks 
out of a total of 660 blocks below 14th st., most of which were in 1905 crowded above 
the safety point when used for tenement purposes, is significant chiefly as emphasizing 
the general condition of this crowded tenement district and the evolution of congestion 
under the present Tenement House, Building, and Taxation laws. 

A study of the changes in density of population from 1905 to 1910 of twenty-eight 
important blocks in the lower part of The Bronx which had in 1905 a population of 
1,000 or over, is even more significant because near m.any of these very blocks are 
blocks practically unimproved, and within walking distance of some are scores of acres 
of vacant land. 

In 1905 the total population of these twenty-eight blocks was 37,241, in 1910 it had 
increased to 42,897, a gain of 5,656. The average density per acre of all the blocks 
was 360 in 1905, and 414 in 1910, an increase of 54 per acre, or over one-seventh in the 
five years. The population of twenty blocks just three-quarters increased during 
this period ; that of eight decreased. 



Three blocks had in 1910 a density per acre of over 600, as follows : The block 
bounded by Kelly St., Westchester, Wales and Robbins aves., of 633; the block bounded 
by E. 146th and 147th sts., St. Ann's and Brooks aves, of 610; the block bounded by 
E. 136th and 137th sts., Willis ave. and Brown place, of 607. The population of the 
first of these increased'in the five years from 1,227 to 1,633, and the population of the 
block bounded by E. 140th and E. 141st sts., Willis and Brooks aves., increased from 
1,601 to 2,298 — that is, by 697, or over two-fifths. The increase in density of only 
eight of the blocks was under SO per acre, of seven between 50 and_ 100, of four be- 
tween 101 and 200, and of one over 200, while the decrease in density of six out of 
seven blocks was under SO per acre. Several blocks in The Bronx are rapidly becoming 
as densely populated as the great majority of the congested tenement blocks in Man- 
hattan, and these Bronx blocks are also occupied chiefly by artisans and factory oper- 
atives and laborers. 

The Sixteenth Ward of Brooklyn had in 190S a population of 61,136, with an aver- 
age density per acre of 249.3. By 1910 the population increased to 68,253, the density 
to 278.8 per acre. 

There were in 1905 twenty-three blocks in this 16th ward with a density of 300 per 
acre or over. The average density per acre of all of these blocks in 1905 was 365, 
and in 1910 was 401, an increase of 36 per acre, or about 9 per cent. Six of the twenty- 
three blocks had a density of between 300 and 350 per' acre, eight of between 351 and 
400, five of between 401 and 450, two of between 451 and 500, while the block bounded 
by Boerum, McKibben and Humboldt Sts. and Graham ave. had a density of 540 per 
acre, and the block bounded by Boerum St., McKibben st., Bushwick ave. and Humboldt 
ave. a density of 495 per acre. The same fluctuation in density of individual blocks oc- 
curred in this period as in the blocks in Manhattan which had in 1905 a density of 750 
per acre or over, but the net density of population per acre of the 244.8 acres of the 
ward — the most densely populated in Brooklyn — nevertheless increased by nearly 30 
people per acre. 

Of the twenty-three blocks under consideration, nearly half decreased in density, 
but nine of them by under SO per acre and only two by over 50, none by over 100. The 
block bounded by Boerum and McKibben and Humboldt Sts. and Graham ave. in- 
creased in density by 174 per acre. 

Six of the twenty-three blocks increased under 50 per acre, three between 50 and 
100, and three between 101 and 200. A large proportion of most of these blocks have 
only a few high tenements, so that the minimum probable density of many is at 
least 600 to the acre if the present development continues. 

3. Room Overcrowding. 

There has not been any systematic effort to prevent room overcrowding in the 
City, but the data as to the extent and seriousness of this evil have been secured from 
various reliable sources. The Tenement House Commissioner at the request of this 
Commission prosecuted an investigation in a few crowded blocks and found the fol- 
lowing conditions : Parents, children and three to eight adult boarders occupied apart- 
ments of two, three or four rooms. 

Number of Rooms Having Indicated Number of Occupants. (A Minor Under 12 is 
Counted as One-Half an Adult.) 

Occupants ^ 1 1^4 2 2i/4 3 3i/4 4 4^ 

No. of Rooms 20 6 58 30 90 15 50 3 

Occupants 5 5i/4 6 6^ 7 7^ 8 8^ 10 

No. of Rooms 11 2 9 1 5 .. 1 .. 2 

Extent of Overcrowding in Rooms Occupied. Number of Persons in Each Room 
Over 1^ Per Room. (A Minor Under 12 is Counted as One-Half an Adult.) 

Occupants ^/^ 1 1^/4 2 2^ 3 3^ 4 A^A 

No. of Rooms 56 28 82 15 51 3 9 3 9 

Occupants : . . . 5 55^ 6 6^ 7 7^ 8 SYz 10 

No. of Rooms 1 5 1 .. .. .. .. 2 

An investigation, made in February, 1910, by various local associations in different 
sections of the Borough of Manhattan and some of the congested districts of Brooklyn 
showed, however, that of 91 families reported less than one-half (^) had two occu- 
pants or less per room, while one-fourth (^4) had 2^ occupants per room, one-seventh 
(1-7) had 3, one-ninth (1-9) had 3^ and one-eighth 4 occupants to a room, or over. 
Two cases were discovered of six occupants in a room; one in a basement and one in 
an attic. One-sixth of the families reported were living in two-room apartments ; and 
one-half in three-room apartments. In each case the number of rooms in the apart- 



ment included the kitchen. The families investigated were typical self-supporting 
families. The Nurses' Settlement on Henry st. reported that 95 per cent, of the fami*^ 
lies which they knew have three occupants per room or over. 

This overcrowding existed notwithstanding the fact that from S to 15 per cent, of 
the apartments available are in most parts of Manhattan constantly vacant. 

4. Intensive Use of Land. 

(A) Proportion of area of blocks .covered by buildings in 1908.- 

In Manhattan over one-fourth of the blocks were covered solidly by buildings'^ 
or had less than 11 per cent of the area not covered and over half of the blocks had 
less than 21 per cent, of the area not covered by buildings. 

Fn the built-up sections of Brooklyn nearly one-fifth of the blocks were covered 
solidly by buildings or had less than 11 per cent, of the site not covered and over one- 
third of the blocks had less than 21 per cent, of the site not covered, while two-thirds 
of the blocks had not over one-third of their area devoted to courts and yards. 

In the built-up section of the Twenty-third Ward of The Bronx one-fourteenth of 
the blocks were sohdly covered by buildings or had less than 11 per cent, not covered 
and nearly one-fifth had less than 21 per cent, of the area not covered, while one-half 
of the blocks had 30 per cent, of the area in courts and yards. 

(B) Use of land below Chambers st.. New Chambers and Tames Slip in Man- 
hattan. 

About two-thirds of the area below Chambers st. was covered by buildings in 1908. 
Of this covered area nearly one-third was covered by buildings five stories high, nearly 
one-tenth by buildings six stories high ; nearly one-eleventh by buildings 12 stories high 
or over. 

(C) Cubage or volume of buildings. 

Mayor McClellan's first Building Code Revision Commission recommended that 
no building should exceed a cubage or volume of more than 174 times the area of the 
lot; that is, should not exceed a volume equivalent to 174 times the area of the lot or 
a solid building of 14 stories covering the entire lot. 

In 1907 there were, however, below Chambers st. eight office buildings having a 
cubage or volume of over 250 times the area of the lot, and 11 office buildings having 
a cubage of over 200 times the area of the lot, while one had a cubage of 313 times 
the area, an access of 139, or more than three-quarters over the cubage recommended. 

5. Height of Tenements. 

There were in 1908, out of a total of 71,922 tenements in Manhattan, 8,761 tene- 
ments six stones high or over; in the Twenty-third Ward of The Bronx, out of 
U,\.m tenements, 1,812 tenements five stories high or over. In the Borough of Brook- 
lyn in the First and to Seventh Wards inclusive, Ninth, Tenth and Twelfth to 
beyenteenth Wards inclusive, 'and Twentieth to Twenty-sixth Wards inclusive, com- 
prising most of the built-up section of the Borough, out of 63,649 tenements, 723 or 
about one-ninetieth were five stories or over. (Many tenements are six stories high 
m tront and a lesser number in the rear, etc., and each numbr of stories is counted ) ■ 

Uf the tenements for which plans were filed in 1909 and 1910, in Manhattan, out 
ot a total of 667, only about one-sixth (109) were under six stories high. 

in The Bronx, out of a total of 1,855, nearly two-thirds (1,158) were five stories 
or over. 

In Brooklyn, out of a total of 1,563, only about one-thirtieth (54) were five stories 
or over. 

In Queens, out of a total of 443 tenements, only one was over four stories. Of 
the five tenements in Richmond, two were two stories, two three stories and one over 
^ix stories. 

Of the total 4,533 tenements for which plans were filed in New York, 134 were over 
six stories, 613 six stories, 1,137, about one-fourth, five stories, and 2,649, about three- 
htths, four stories high or less, more than one-fourth being three stories or less. 

6. Multiple Family Tenements. 

Tenements of this type are for the accommodation of several families, and of 
^"^s^t^"^'"^"^^ P'^"^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ™ 1^^ a"d 1910 as follows : In Manhattan, of 667 
only 272 provided for four families or less per floor. In The Bronx, out of 1,855 only 
438, or approximately one-fourth, provided for over four families per floor, while 855 
provided for two families or less per floor, approximately one-half of the total num- 
ber, in Brooklyn, out of 1,563 tenements, 1,345, or approximately four fifths, provided 
for two families or less per floor, and 321, or one-fifth, for only one family per floor, 
although there were in Brooklyn 164 tenements which provided for four families per 
floor or over. Out of 443 tenements in Queens, 422 provided for two families or less 
per floor, and the largest number of families to the floor was four, in 11 tenements. 



10 

In Richmond, two tenements provided for one family to the floor and three for 
two families. 

In New York City as a whole, out of 4,533 tenements, for which plans were filed 
in 1909 and 1910, 485, or approximately one-tenth, provided for one family per floor, 
2,641 provided for two families or less per floor, and approximately one-fifth provided 
for five families per floor or more. 

7. Heights of Buildings Other Than Tenements -in 1907 and 1908. 

In Manhattan, out of 17,357 buildings used for all purposes, except tenements, 
nearly seven-eighths were six stories high or less, and only one-hundredth were 13 
stories high or over. In Brooklyn, out of 10,439 such buildings, only about one-hun- 
dredth were over six stories high. In the Twenty-third Ward of The Bronx, out of 
2,735 such buildings, only 14 were over six stories high. (As for tenements all eleva- 
tions were counted.) 

8. Concentration of Land Values. 

In 1910 the assessed land value of ordinary land of Manhattan, that is, exclusive 
of land of "Real Estate of Corporations" and "Special Franchises," was $2,905,201,140, 
nearly 75 per cent, of the entire assessed value of land in Greater New York, viz., 
$4,001,129,651, although Manhattan has only 6.7 per cent., or about one-fifteenth of the 
area of the City. Of the total increase in assessed value of such land of New York 
from 1909 to 1910, of $115,402,444, $75,454,269 was in Manhattan, about two-thirds of 
the total increase in assessed valuation. In 1908 the assessed value of such land south 
of Chambers St., New Chambers st. and James Slip in Manhattan, about one-five-hun- 
dredth of the area of New York (0.18 per cent.), was $339,649,810, or 8.83 per cent., 
nearly one-eleventh of the total assessed value of such land in the entire City. One 
block in lower Manhattan of only. 155 acres represented in 1908 .019 per cent, of the 
total of such assessed land value ,of the City, or approximately one-five-hundredth. 

9. Nationalities in Congested Areas and Blocks. 

The data regarding nationalities in congested areas and blocks have been com- 
piled by Dr. Walter Laidlaw, Secretary of the Federation of Churches and Christian; 
Organizations. The data regarding nationality in 1910 are not available, the last being 
of 1905. 

Irish and German, the leading foreign peoples of Manhattan in 1900, have been 
displaced by Russians and Italians. 

All four of these nationalities were in the 100,000 class of 1905, and the Italians 
were the only group of the four having below 100,000 in the Borough of Manhattan 
in 1900. 

The following is the order of foreign nationalities in Manhattan in 1905 : Russian, 
practically 200,000; Italian, 155,000; Irish, 125,000; German, 115,000; Austrian, 80,000; 
Hungarian, 35,000; Poles, 25,000; Roumanian, 21,000; Bohemian, 10,000; with 33 other 
nationalities under 10,000. 

The 122 blocks in Manhattan having in 1905 a density of over 750 people per acre 
have been especially counted : 65.7 per cent of the 312,042 people living in 1905 in 
blocks of over 750 per acre were foreign-born, and only 34.25 per cent American-born. 
The foreign-born in Manhattan numbered, in 1905, 890,142, and 205,151 of them, or over 
23 per cent., were domiciled in blocks having above 750' people per acre, while less 
than 9 per cent, of American-born people were living under like conditions. 

Of the population in blocks of over 750 density, Russian-born people supplied 
30.15 per cent and American only 34.25 per cent, while the Austrians supplied 12.65 
per cent., Italians 9.60 per cent., Poles 4.21 per cent., Roumanians 3.24 per cent, 
and Hungarians 2.78 per cent. South of 14th st., in 1905, there were 155,828 Russian- 
born people. Of these 93,802, or 62 per cent., were living in blocks having over 750 
people per acre. 

Of the Poles and Austrians in Manhattan in 1905, there were over 50 per cent living 
in blocks of over 750 per acre. Between 45 per cent, and 50 per cent, of the Russians 
in Manhattan blocks, 34 per cent, of the Chinese, over 25 per cent, of the Hungarians, 
and less than 25 per cent, of the Italians were living in similar blocks. 

The foreign-born in Manhattan grew from 789,342 in 1900 to 890,142 in 1905, an 
increase of 100,800 out of the 262,287 increase of Manhattan in those five years. 

The population of Manhattan was 42.7 per cent, foreign-born in 1900, and, despite 
the surplus of birth-rate over death-rate, was still 42.2 per cent, foreign-born in 1905. 

The old Thirty-first Assembly District, running from 110th to 134th sts., and be- 
tween Park and 8th aves., was 3 per cent, more foreign in 1905 than in 1900. 

The Borough of The Bronx had 30.7 per cent, foreign-born in 1900 and 29.5 per 
cent, in 1905. 



11 

The old Thirty-fifth Assembly District had proportionately more foreign-born in 
1905 than in 1900, while the foreign-born population of the old Thirty-fourth Assembly 
District fell off almost 3 per cent. 

South of 14th St. on the East Side, the native-born population, from 1900 to 1905, 
increased only from 223,039 to 231,103, or in all 8,064 persons, less than 4 per cent., 
while the foreign-born increased 61,517 persons, or very nearly 20 per cent. There 
were, therefore, many districts where the number of native-born in 1905 was actually 
less than in 1900. 

10. Land Holdings. 

In 1908 : 3,568 acres, approximately one-ninth of the total acreage of The Bronx, 
was owned by 23 corporations, estates, families and companies. This included one 
500-acre tract, two 300-acre tracts, six tracts of from 200 to 250 acres, and 9 from 
100 to 200 acres, with a large number of holdings varying from 10 to 100-acre tracts. 

In Queens several real estate companies each own from 500 to 1,000 acres of land; 
two real estate companies own or control approximately one-sixth of the total unim- 
proved land in the Borough of Brooklyn. 

In 1907 : eight families, estates and corporations owned 5.42 per cent., or over one- 
twentieth of the total assessed land value in Manhattan, and 1.88 per cent., or nearly 
one-fiftieth, of the total area of the Borough. 

In The Bronx one-fourteenth of the total area was held in lots of over 100 acres, 
and about one-seventh in lots of 25 to 100 acres. 

In Queens one-twenty-fifth of the area was held in lots of over 100 acres, and ovei' 
one-fifth in lots of 25 to 100 acres. 

There were in Greater New York five companies, each of which owned from 400 
to about 2,000 acres. 

In Richmond 58 individuals, corporations and estates, though chiefly individuals, 
owned last year, 1910, 5,559 acres out of a total of 26,600 acres, or over one-seventh of 
the total acreage of the island. There were 37 holdings of from 50 to 100 acres, 17 
from 101 to 200 acres, one of 300 acres and one of 1,600 acres. Most of this land was 
assessed on acreage and some of it as low as $300 per acre. 

11. Industrial Congestion. 

One of the most marked features of congestion in New York City is the great 
concentration of factories and workers in factories in lower Manhattan. The largest 
number of workers reported during the year 1906 in all the factories of the 209,218 
acres of Greater New York was 662,749. Of this number 481,856 or over two-thirds 
were in Manhattan on less than one-fifteenth of the area of the City, while 321,468, 
practically one-half, were located below 14th st., and 20th on the West Side in Man- 
hattan on 2,717 acres, or virtually one-seventieth of the area of the City. In the old 
Sixth Assembly District, bounded by Broadway, 4th st., 3d ave., St. Marks pL, 2d ave., 
E. 2d St., 1st ave., p. Houston, Stanton, Chyrstie, Division sts.. Bowery and Canal st, 
and comprising only 186 acres, there were 56,598 workers in factories, or approximately 
one-eleventh of all the workers of the City, on one-eleven-hundred-and-twenty-fourth 
of all the City's area. 

The number of factories in New York City in 1906 was 25,892; of these 20,193 
(77.94 per cent), or nearly four-fifths, were located in Manhattan and The Bronx, 
with very few in The Bronx. Of the increase of 3,060 new factories in Greater New 
York from 1906 to 1907, 2,438 were located in Manhattan and The Bronx, the vast 
majority of these in Manhattan, representing in the two Boroughs 78.16 per cent of the 
total increase in factories, again approximately four-fifths. During this period there 
was an increase of only 473 factories in Brooklyn, 106 in Queens and 43 in Richmond. 

A study of the number of persons for whom accommodations were provided in 
factories built during the year 1902 to 1907 inclusive show that provisions were made, 
allowing 28 square feet to each occupant, for 137,034 in Manhattan, of whom 31,789 
were located about 4^d st., while 72,805 were located in the district between 8th st., 
St. Marks pi., Greenwich ave. and Christopher st. and 42d st. On the same basis, from 
1903 to 1907 inclusive, accommodations were provided in factories constructed for 
197,238 persons in Bi^ooklyn, but provisions for only one-third of them were made in 
the central wards, the 10th, 12th, 22d and 26th. Factories in the main are not over- 
crowded in Brooklyn as in Manhattan. Brooklyn, with nearly one-fourth of the City's 
area, had only about half the number of workers below 14th st. in Manhattan. 

12. Office Concentration. 

There were in office buildings below Chambers st.. New Chambers st. and James 
Slip in 1908, allowing 110 square feet to each occupant, accommodations for nearly 
130,000 people. 

In office buildings constructed in 1908 there were provided accommodations below 
Cortlandt st. and in Maiden Lane for 15,575 persons, allowing 110 square feet to each 



12 



occupant. Two large buildings, however, each provide accommodations for from 
8,000 to 10,000 people. 

13. School Conditions in New York City. 

(a) There were in public elementary schools on October 31, 1910, in Manhattan, 
425 classes having register of 56 pupils and over, and three having a register of from 
88 to 101. In The Bronx there were 165 classes with a register of over 56 and one 
class having between 88 and 101. In Brooklyn there were 453 classes having a register 
of over 56 pupils, while Queens had 29 such classes, and Richmond three. In the Bor- 
oughs outside of Manhattan, however, these large classes have a larger proportion of 
the total number of pupils than in Manhattan. 

(b) Height of School Buildings. 

In Manhattan 82 school buildings are five stories, and two six stories in height; 
in The Bronx there are one five-story buildings and one five-story basement; in Brook- 
lyn, two five-story and one five-story and basement, while in Brooklyn there were 44 
four-story and basement school buildings. 

(c) Schools Having Specified Average Attendance December, 1910. 



Borough. 

Manhattan . 
The Bronx 
Brooklyn . . 
Queens . . . 
Richmond . 



Under 1,500 to 2,000 to 2,500 to Over Total 
1,500. 2,000. 2,500. 3,000. 3,000. Schools. 



87 


42 


23 


12 


21 


4 


5 


6 


113 


24 


20 


1 


73 








34 









166 
1 40 

1 159 

34 



Total. 




328 72> 48 19 


4 472 












(d) 


Part Time and Average Attendance. 




Borough. 




Part Average 
Time. Attendance. 
Dec, 1910. 


Percentage of 

Attendance on 

Part Time. 



Manhattan 
The Bronx 
Brooklyn . . 

Queens 

Richmond . 



9,717 
14,475 
28,826 

4,686 
165 

57,809 



247,509 
61,068 

207,922 
39,977 
11,022 

567,498 



3.9% 
23.7% 
13.8% 
11.7% 

1.4% 

10.0% 



It will be noted that Richmond, with less than 2 per cent, of the total average 
attendance in public elementary schools, had only 1.4 per cent, of pupils on part time. 
Manhattan, however, had only about one-third as large a proportion of pupils on 
part time as Queens, and only about one-sixth as large a proportion on part time as 
Brooklyn. 

The City has paid for school sites in congested sections of Manhattan as high as 
$20 per square foot, while the average price paid per square foot for school sites in 
Brooklyn and The Bronx for the last few years has been approximately $1.50 per 
square foot and in Queens less than 75 cents per square foot. 

14. Assessed Land Values of Congested Blocks. 

It is often claimed that for a good standard of housing for unskilled wage earn- 
ers the maximum value of land should not exceed 50 cents per square foot. 

In 1908 the assessed land value per square foot of the congested blocks of lower 
Manhattan ranged from $2.74 to $16, and in most of these blocks exceeded $10 per 
square foot. 

The land value maps prepared by the Department of Taxes and Assessments 
show that in 1910, exclusive of corner lots, or those influenced by corner values, in- 
cluding the maximum value on any side of the block, values were as follows : 

Of 2,372 blocks in Manhattan only 99 had lots with value of $1 per square foot 
or less, and only 169 had lots with a value of $3.50 per square foot or less, while 798 
blocks had lots with a value of $9.50 per square foot, and from that valuation up 
to the high Wall st. values. 



13 

Of 2,162 blocks in The Bronx, 579, or nearly two-sevenths, had lots assessed 
for fifty cents per square foot or less, while 1,901, or about seven-eighths, were assessed 
for $2 per square foot or less. 

Of the 7,327 blocks in Brooklyn, only 218, about one-thirty-fifth, were assessed 
for over $3.50 per square foot, while only about one-fifteenth were assessed for over 
$2 per square foot, and 4,476, nearly two-thirds, were $1 per square foot, or less. 

Of the 849 blocks in the First Ward of Queens (Long Island City), 712, or 
nearly seven-eighths, had a value of $1 per square foot or less, and only 35 of over 
$2 per square foot, while the highest square foot values were only $5 and $6.70 on 
Jackson ave. In most of the rest of the Borough assessed land values were under 
50 cents per square foot. 

In Richmond relatively little land is assessed for over 25 cents per square foot^ 
and much of it is acreage. 

15. Park Area in Congested Districts. 

In 1910 Manhattan had a total park acreage of 1,444.2849 acres, with 1,614 popu- 
lation to each acre of park; The Bronx had 4,135.574 acres of park, with 104 population 
to each acre of park; Brooklyn, 978.385 acres, with 1,674 population to the acre; 
Queens, 602.23 acreage of parks, with 386 to the acre; and Richmond, 62.53 park 
acreage, with 1,374 population to the acre. Mr. Howard Bradstreet, Superintendent 
of Recreation of Manhattan and Richmond, has prepared tables in which he shows 
the actual deficit of park area for different Assembly Districts in 1908, since which 
time there has been practically no addition to the park acreage of the City, while the 
population has increased several hundred thousand. Mr. Bradstreet takes an acre 
of park as a normal provision for 250 people, and on this basis there was in 1908 in 
the First Assembly District, bounded roughly by the Hudson River, Canal and Broome 
sts. and Broadway, a shortage of park acreage of 7,382 acres ; in the Fourth Assembly 
District, bounded roughly by Catherine, Division and Jackson sts. and the East River, 
and with a total area of 166 acres, a shortage of park area amounting to 361.622 
acres ; that is, the population is so dense that it is impossible to provide even approxi- 
mately an adequate park area. Similar conditions exist in several other sections of 
the City. The City has paid as high as at the rate of $5,000,000 for an open spot in 
lower Manhattan, but can secure parks in other Boroughs for from $5,000 to $10,000 
an acre. 

II. Effects of Congestion and Room Overcrowding. 

The effects of congestion may be treated under three heads : 

1. Physical effects. 

2. Moral effects. 

3* Economic effects. 

(1) Physical Effects. 

The crude death rate of_ New York City is not, notwithstanding the conditions 
of congestion to which attention has been directed, a high one. In 1909 it was sixteen 
ten-hundredths (15.10) per thousand; Vienna, sixteen and eight-tenths (16.8); Paris, 
seventeen and four-tenths (17.4) ; Chicago, fourteen and one-tenth (14.1) ; Philadel- 
phia, fifteen and eight-tenths (15.8) ; and Boston, seventeen and seven-tenths (17.7) 
per thousand. Dr. W. H. Guilfoy, Register of the Bureau of Records of the Depart- 
nient of Health, to whom the Commission is indebted for the statistics which have 
just been given, remarks : 

"The Committee^ on Congestion should not fall into the error that the crude 
death rate of a city is an accurate measure of that city's salubrity as compared with 
that of other cities whose crude death rate may be lower. The death rate of a town, 
city or country is dependent upon a considerable number of factors, and the most 
important of these are the sex and age groupings or distribution of population. A 
city with a very high birth rate like New York City will have a considerable number 
of children living in it under the age of five years, at which age the death rate is very 
high. Consequently, this will increase the mortaHty considerably above other cities in 
which the birth rate is apparently low. We find, as a matter of fact, that the birth 
rate in all of the large cities of the world, with the probable exception of New York, 
has been decreasing within the past ten years, and that this decrease in the birth rate 
has gone hand in hand with the decrease in the crude death rate due to the compara^ 
tively small number of children under the age of five years, at which age the mor- 
tality is excessive. When this department receives the figures showing the sex and 
age groupings in The City of New York, as enumerated in the Federal Census of 
this year, it will be in a position to make accurate comparisons between the death 
rate of New York City and that of some of the other cities of the world. Until this 
is done we maintain that New York City is equal to, if not superior to, any large city 
in the world from the point of view of healthfulness." 



14 

While, therefore, such conditions of congestion as exist in this City have not 
had any alarming results upon the health of the population, it is still true that those 
conditions have unquestionably had a bad effect upon the public health. 

Dr. W. H. Parks stated at a hearing of the subcommittee on Health of the Corn- 
mission, "that the more overcrowding you have the more sickness and death there will 
be. As to the actual amount of such increase, I have no statistics, and so cannot 
state definitely. It is the opinion of all those that have studied congestion, that we 
have increased sickness in overcrowded rooms and increased mortality among those 
sick ; that is, not only more sick, but of those that are sick, more deaths. This is 
especially true of communicable diseases. Overcrowded rooms mean less fresh air, 
and, therefore, as we now know, less chance for recovery." 

He stated with regard to consumption : "The best of my knowledge and belief 
is that three-fourths of those now known to have consumption will die without 
regard to what can be done for them, and it is only in the early stages that recovery 
is possible for a large percentage." And further: "The most important thing is to 
supply a place where good air and good light can be got, away from the City; and 
next to that give them rooms with good air and light in the City, and sufficient and 
suitable food, if they cannot afford it themselves. Every case removed from the 
City and made comfortable itself will remove one centre of infection. At present, 
the number of tuberculosis cases in the City remains the same. That is, we have as 
many cases each year as the year before." And he anticipated the same number of 
deaths annually, i. e.. approximately 10,000 under our present conditions. 

It is unquestionably the case that congestion of population through its effect upon 
the health of the people of the City is contributing largely to the $10,000,000 a year 
which New York spends on her departments for the prevention and the cure of 
disease. 

While the death rate of New York City is not extremely high compared with the 
death rates of som.e cities, the true physical results of congestion and room overcrowd- 
ing can be ascertained only when corrections are made for specific diseases and for 
age and in congested blocks and in overcrowded rooms. 

Dr. Antonio Stella has analyzed the records of the City Department of Health 
in 1905 and 1906 for six congested blocks in which Italians predominated. 

While the general death rate for The City of New York in 1905 and 1906 was 
18 35 per cent, per 1,000, and under five years 51.5 per 1,000-, it varies in these blocks 
from 22.3 to 24.9 per 1,000 for all ages and from 59.5 to 92.2 per 1,000 for children 
under five years of age. 

In an exhaustive examination made recently of 72,857 school children in Glasgow, 
whose families were living in one, two, three and four rooms respectively,_ it was 
found that invariably boys and girls of a given age, whose families were living in 
one room, were both of lighter weight and shorter in stature than those whose families 
were living in two room apartments, those in two rooms than those in three, and those 
in three than those in four. 

Investigations at Edinburgh showed similar results, with the addition that it was 
found there was an equivalent difference in mental power. 

An investigation made in Leipsig showed a death rate in rooms with three or 
four occupants, for adults three times and for children under one year, four times 
greater than in rooms with one occupant. 

In a recent year the county of Durham, England, in which there was 28.4 per 
cent, of overcrowding, had a death rate of 18.64 per 1,000, while the county of Essex, 
with only 2.7 per cent, of overcrowding, had a death rate of 14.03 per 1,000. 

Sir Shirley Murphy, Medical Officer of Health of London, in a report of the 
Committee on Physical Deterioration, furnished the following information regarding 
the results in London in 1901 : 

Proportion of Total Population Living in Tenements of One or Two Rooms. 

Death Rate per 1,000 Living. 

, ' ^ 

From All From 
Causes. Phthisis. 

Districts with 0-12 per cent, overcrowding 13.4 1.1 

Districts with 12-15 per cent, overcrowding 16.1 1.4 

Districts with 15-20 per cent, overcrowding 17.7 1.5 

Districts with 20-25 per cent, overcrowding 15.3 1.5 

Districts with 25-32 per cent, overcrowding 18.9 1.9 

Districts with 32 per cent, and upwards overcrowding 19.7 2^ 



15 

Sir Shirley Murphy has shown that 1891-1900, the infant mortality in districts of 
London with under 10 per cent, of overcrowding (more than two in a room) is 142 per 
1,000 births, whereas, in districts with a percentage of overcrowding of over 35, it is 
223 per 1,000 births. 

2. Moral Effects of Congestion and Room Overcrowdinq. 

While it is a fact that most of those persons who are convicted of crime come 
from the congested districts, it is of course, not possible to regard congestion of popu- 
lation as a sole or even the main cause of crime. At the same time there seems to be 
very little doubt among those who have worked in the congested districts that a very 
large part of the juvenile delinquencies, which are becoming so serious,, are directly 
traceable to the congested conditions of population among a large portion of the 
families from which the juvenile delinquents come, Mr. Ernest K. Coulter, Clerk of 
the Children's Court of New York County, stated : "Congestion is responsible for a 
vast number of the cases that come into the Children's Courts of New York City, 
environment counts nine-tenths in the whole proposition of juvenile delinquency." 
Mr. Coulter gave many instances of the results of room overcrowding, for he claimed : 
"The children often come to feel that they are not wanted in their so-called homes 
and they are really forced to the streets. The most skillful pickpockets in New York 
City are children. The ranks of these young thieves are constantly being recruited 
from the districts where there is the greatest congestion. The reason is that the 
homes of these children are so crowded and wretched that there is little attractive for 
them there, and these little unfortunates when given the first taste of easy money, 
have little desire to live in the old way." 

Hon. Wm. McAdoo, Chief City Magistrate, stated in a communication to the 
Commission : 

"I think there can be no question but what the connection between congestion of 
population,, especially in that form which it takes in the tenement houses, particularly 
the old style tenements, crime and delinquency is very marked. The crowded living 
conditions in these small rooms, lack of personal privacy and separation of the sexes, 
must, in the very nature of things beget conditions which conduce to immorality and 
the lack of self respect. 

"I certainly think that the poor family in the country, however impoverished, has 
a much better chance of bringing up the children to lead clean, moral lives, and be less 
sophisticated as to vice than children brought up in the congested quarters in the city. 
For instance, I recently visited what are called the 'agricultural slums' in the con- 
gested districts in Ireland, in a mountainous and very healthy country, where the 
indoor life is cramped and the poverty obvious, but where the outdoor life is very 
heulthful, the climate moderate and even, and the moral and religious atmosphere 
excellent; and I should hesitate, if it had been left to me, to transplant these people 
to the crowded tenements of the East Side, even if they got more food and better 
clothing than they did in the old country. The percentage of crime amongst these 
people in the old land is so low as scarcely to be perceptible, and they lead clean, moral 
lives, stimulated under adverse conditions by high spiritual exaltation and deep 
reverence." 

3. Economic Effects of Congestion and Room Overcrowding. 

The most marked effects of congestion of population are upon rent and wages. 
The mere presence of a large population in certain sections, on account of the increased 
demand for housing accommodations, has the natural result of increasing the rent 
which is demanded ; and of diminishing the wages in so far as the amount of work 
for which wages are paid does not increase. The high rents and the low wage have 
the effect of forcing the population to live in more and more congested conditions. 
Rents are so high and wages are so low in the congested districts of the City that 
it is everywhere reported to the Commission that families in these districts are quite 
commonly taking in lodgers or boarders in order to enable them to pay the rents 
which are demanded. 

Rents in the congested districts are furthermore apparently increasing. This 
increase in rents naturally increases the land values. The cost of materials used in the 
construction of buildings and the cost of labor employed for that purpose have also 
increased. The result has been, so long as there is a demand for housing accom- 
modations, to increase the rent. In fact, low wages, high rents, increase of land values 
and the cost of construction and labor, all seem to work in a vicious circle, the effect 
of which is indirectly, at any rate, to increase congestion and to lower the standards 
of life of a large part of the population which is living in the congested districts. 

This lowering of the economic standards of a large part of the population living 
in the congested districts, has had the effect also of making greater and greater 



16 

demands upon public and private charitable aid within the city. The most noticeable 
effects are to be seen in the case of private charitable aid. The city, as is virell known,, 
does not at present distribute any outdoor relief of any amount. Such outdoor relief 
a? is distributed, is distributed by the private charitable associations of the city with 
the exception of stipends to the blind. This outdoor relief is naturally distributed 
by those associations among the population where the need of it is most noticeable; 
and that population is the population of the congested districts. No attempt apparently 
h made by associations distributing outdoor relief so to distribute their relief as to 
diminish congestion ; in fact, as far as the Commission have been able to determine 
the effect of the distribution of outdoor relief under the present conditions is to 
increase rather than diminish congestion. 

The Sub-committee on Charities, of this Commission, has found : 

(1) That over 150,000 persons are receiving annually outdoor relief, and that 
about 500,000 people are receiving annually relief from public and private charity of all 
kinds. 

(2) That most of the relief is given to people who live in congested districts 
where rents are very high. 

(3) That relief is being given by private charities in the city to people living 
in such unhealthy conditions that the Department of Health has refused to grant 
licenses for home manufacture to the people occupying such quarters. 

(4) That relief is given by private societies to families where tenement manu- 
facture is constantly going on in defiance of the law. 

The effect of such methods in distributing outdoor relief is therefore extremely 
bad. Its effect also is important since it is established, that about $20,000,000 are dis- 
tributed annually. 

Causes of Congestion. 

1. Poverty. 

Poverty may be defined as inability to maintain a reasonable standard 
of living. With limitations, poverty must be recognized as an indirect cause of con- 
gestion of population. With the enormous land values in Manhattan, the very wealthy 
who can afford ample space are not in any sense of the term congested. On the other 
hand the inability of unskilled wage earners to pay the rent demanded for a suf- 
ficient area for their homes and enough rooms causes congestion and room over- 
crowding. With a proper distribution of population, however, and with reasonably 
cheap land, there should not be any such direct connection between the present incomes 
and the congestion of population. 

2. Concentration of Factories and Offices. 

The Island of Manhattan is 'the site of the greatest concentration of factories 
and offices in the world. Many buildings occupied almost entirely by factories are 
from 12 to 18 stories in height, and the mere fact, that nearly half of .the total num- 
ber of workers in factories of this city are occupied in factories located in the 2,717 
acres below 14th street and up to 20th street on the west side in Manhattan, would 
necessarily, with the present long hours of work, even with better wages than those 
now paid, produce congestion of population, or the massing of many people upon very 
limited areas. For, with the present hours of labor, the factory workers must live 
near their work. 

3. 7'lie Recent Consolidation of the Five Boroughs. 

Until The Bronx was incorporated with Manhattan, the limited area of Man- 
hattan,- the rivers on both sides were some excuse for the massing of population, 
which has been a special feature of Manhattan's development. Ever since the con- 
solidation of these two boroughs, as now constituted, little effort has however been 
made to distribute population into The Bronx, for Manhattan has been desirous of 
utilizing its land most intensively through the massing of population in tenements, 
factories and offices. Until the information of Greater New York in 1897, moreover, 
there was further the same competition between Manhattan and Brooklyn, which now 
exists between The City of New York and the State of New Jersey, especially the 
cities in the western part of that State. 

It has been extremely difficult to overcome the striving of each community to 
get the population. Had New York City comprised 25 years ago its present area, the 
probabilities are that there would have been a little less congestion in the Borough 
of Manhattan to-day. 

4. The Intensive Use of the Land. 

The present Tenement House Law marks indeed an advance upon the Tenement 
House Law which had been enacted previously. This law permits a net density per 
acre exclusive of streets surrounding the block of 3,860 in large fireproof tenements, 
while in the ordinary six-story tenement a density of 1,300 per net acre is permissible.. 



17 

There is, however, no limit upon the height of tenements other than that they shall 
not exceed by moje than one-half the width of the widest street upon which they 
stand. There is afso no limit placed upon the volume or cubage or heights of build- 
ings used for office or factory purposes. While the report of this Commission was 
being prepared, a building of 55 stories in height has been planned for lower Man- 
hattan. 

The most startling fact, however, is that these conditions and the mtensive use of 
land are permissible not only in Manhattan, but as well in every part of each of the 
five constituent boroughs of New York City. Ninety per cent, of corner lots, and 70 
per cent, of interior lots may be covered by tenements, while a hotel, when located on 
any other than a corner lot, may cover 90 per cent, of the area of such lot or ploit at 
an above the second-story level if not more than five stories in height, and 2^ per 
cent, less for every additional story in height. On a corner lot a hotel may occupy 95 
per cent, of such lot at and above the second-story level, and in both cases may cover 
the entire area of the first floor. Office buildings may cover the entire area of a 
corner lot, and 90 per cent, of lot area at and above the second story, when not located 
on a corner. 

5. fJie Hk/h Price of Laud Due to the Intensive Use of Land. 

It is true that the first story of low buildings situated on a thoroughfare with 
thousands of people passing it daily, would pay a fair return upon a very high land 
value, but it is equally true that the present permissible intensive use of land makes 
land valuable, and that land values tend to reach the maximum capitahzed rental 
value of the most intensive use of land permitted under the law. In other words, land 
values in New Yoric City, especially in Manhattan and sections of The Bronx and 
Brooklyn, readily accessible by transit have capitalized congestion values, and these 
values are the basis of the city's entire financial and fiscal policies. 

6. Lack of Control Over Aliens and Citizens. 

The personal element as a factor in producing congestion must be recognized. A 
great many people who are perfectly able to afford sanitary conditions of living an 
adequate number of rooms and good housing, nevertheless crowd into unsanitary dwel- 
lings and rooms in congested districts through too keen a sense of thrift and the de- 
sire to reduce their expenditures so that they may save money to send home or for 
other purposes. This applies not only to aliens but to workers who come to the City 
from other parts of the State or of this country. The Tenement House Law requires 
as has been noted that no room shall be so overcrowded that there shall be less than 
400 cubic feet of air space for every adult and 200 for every child under 12 years of 
age, but there is no means of enforcing this law, and there has been no systematic 
effort" to make this requirement of the law known to the tenement dwellers. There 
is absolutely no control at present and there has_ never been any such control over the 
location of immigrants and poorer classes of citizens who tend to flock to the already 
over-populated sections of the City contiguous to opportunities for securing employ- 
ment. 

7. Long Hours of Work. 

Three factors are very important in the determining of the residence of the work- 
ers in factories and to a lesser extent in ofifices. 

(a) Hours of work. 

(b) Carfare. 

(c) Social considerations, clannishness or gregariousness. 

Long hours of work, however, are one of the most important, since even if the 
laborer has a large income so that the carfare is not a deterrnining factor, nevertheless 
the necessity of riding even half an hour to and from work in addition to 10 hours of 
work, tends to keep him near his work, even if he is required to live in congested sec- 
tions of the City and in surroundings unfavorable for his family. It should be noted, 
too, that the member of the family who has the longest hours of labor generally de~ 
termines the location of the family, thus, although several members of the family may 
be working only seven or eight hours, if the father, an unskilled laborer, works 10" 
hours and must be at his work at 7 o'clock in the morning, this will tend to keep the 
entire family near the father's place of work. 

8. Cost of Transit and the Transit Policy of the City. 

The Bulletin of the Federal Census published recently shows that in 1905, the av- 
erage wages of workers in factories in the different Boroughs were as follows: 

Of 339,221 Wage Earners in Factories in Manhattan and The Bronx $536 76 

Of 104,995 Wage Earners in Factories in Brooklyn 519 42 

Of 14,906 Wage Earners in Factories in Queens 566 28 

Of 5,595 Wage Earners in Factories in Richmond 549 21 



18 

There are relatively few heads of families in New York City, even skilled me- 
chanics, who are earning the minimum of $800 a year, which a Committee of the State 
Conference on Charities and Corrections have reported to be essential to maintain a 
family on a reasonable basis without permitting of any saving whatsoever, and prom- 
ising the utmost care and thrift on the part of the family. It is true, of course, that 
many families of the City have more than one worker, so that the total income of the 
family is greater than the figures given above, but the minimum of $800 provides only 
for the support for three children under 14 years of age and for the parents, while 
the expenses of a child over 14 years of age working are naturally greater than those 
of children under this age. There are roughly speaking no areas at present accessible 
to Manhattan where a laborer's family can live with an expenditure of less than 20 
cents a day for the wage earner's carfare, or without the necessity of nearly one 
hour's travel and secure the housing conditions which are regarded as proper in al- 
most every other American city. The man, therefore, who is employed in lower Man- 
hattan, and who has an income of less than even $900, is practically obliged with a 
ten-hour day to reside within these congested districts if he has a family of three 
children and a wife to support. The transit policy of New York City is in partial 
measure responsible for this condition. 

The City in the past has regarded transit as a matter to be governed by com- 
mercial and not by social considerations, and although it must be admitted that the 
transportation of large numbers of persons to and from work involves an economic 
waste which might largely be avoided, lack of adequate transit facilities coupled with 
a complete failure to regulate the development of the City has tended to produce con- 
gestion of population in Manhattan and to permit of the gradual duplication of similar 
congestion, although not as intense as yet in the other Boroughs of the City. 

9. Lack of a Definite City Plan. 

The failure to provide for the development of the City for a number of years in 
advance and to make provision for the gradual adaptation of streets to the needs of 
subsequent generations at a reasonable cost has in large measure caused the present 
congestion of traffc in the downtown sections. 

The cost of widening streets in these sections is well nigh prohibitive after land 
has reached a high value and the streets are improved by buildings of great volume 
and costly construction, whose alteration or demolition would put a very heavy cost 
upon the City. The failure to provide a City plan determining the way in which the 
various sections of the City are to be developed is also largely responsible for the 
congestion through intensive use of land. It is true that on lower Manhattan the 
factories are chiefly located in the centre of the Island and at nearly an equal distance 
from both rivers, and there is a large tenement district on both sides of this factory 
district. On the other hand the land values are so great here now that this proximity 
of factory and dwelling which was formerly advantageous now constitutes one of the 
most serious problems of congestion. To a very limited extent also factories have 
been placed along the water fronts and the rivers, creeks and canals in the Borough of 
The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, but the City has not had any logical plan made for 
such distribution. Centralization has been the principle of New York's development. 
Considerable attention has been paid ever since consolidation to the development of 
Manhattan, even yet not only the financial centre of the City, but as well the business, 
barter, artistic, recreationanl and hotel centre of the Greater New York. The result, 
viz. : Intense congestion has been perfectly natural, private interest has been permitted 
to control the development not only of Manhattan but of the other Boroughs rather 
than the public welfare. 

10. Present System of Taxation. 

In New York City until very recently the owner of land improved with buildings 
has been penalized, while the man who holds the land out of use so that he may secure 
the speculative increase of land values has been helped by the taxation policy of the 
City, since unimproved land has been assessed at a relatively low value, while the rate 
•on land and buildings has been the same. The system of taxation has discouraged 
the construction of tenements, of factories and all other buildings until the growth of 
the City's projected improvement has given to land the capitalized congestion value, 
to which reference has been made and has enabled the owners of land to reap fortunes 
from values created largely by the increases of population. This policy is putting a 
premium upon congestion and is in appreciable measure responsible for the holding 
of land out of use for a much longer period than it would be so withheld if a large 
share of the increase of land values created by the community were recovered by them 
for community needs. 

11. Failure to Prepare Land for Housing Purposes. 

An inquiry addressed by the Commission to the Presidents of the various Bor- 



19 

oughs had elicited from some of them the opinion that the inadequacy of the sewer 
system in certain districts in The Bronx and Queens has prevented the construction 
in such districts of dwellings. This inadequacy is due not so much to any neglect 
on the part of the City officers as to the fact that the undertaking of such improve- 
ments is dependent upon the action of the owners of property in those districts. 

The President of the Borough of Manhattan suggested that the "President of the 
Borough might be clothed with the same authority that the Commissioner of Public 
Works had under the old regime, that is, prior to consolidation, who was allowed to 
complete the sewer system throughout the City and to lay or improve the sewers as 
necessity required. No petition was necessary and the only requirement was that 
maps showing the proposed works should be filed before allowing the contracts for the 
same." 

The President of the Borough of Queens is of the belief "that the construction of 
sewers could be expedited if the Board of Estimate and Apportionment would recom- 
mend the approval of sewerage systems in isolated sections, these systems to be 
finally incorporated perhaps with some modifications with the scheme for the whole 
Borough, or by having them approve a system first showing the location, size and 
grade of the outlet sewer, the sewers for the separate locations to be designed as the 
need develops." 

12. Methods of Administering Public and Private Charity. 

The effect of charity has doubtless been overestimated by many people as a cause 
of congestion of population. The City however expends annually approximately $35,- 
000,000 on charity, either public or private, including the cost of maintaining public 
and private institutions. This means roughly about $9 for every family in the City. 
The expenditure of so large an amount must have some effect upon the welfare of 
the community. Much evidence has been presented before the Commission which 
shows that the present methods of charitable societies of the City and even of the 
Department of Public Charities, tend to anchor people in the congested districts. 
Thus in the year 1910 out of approximately $3,170,000 expended by seven of the largest 
charities of the City and 44 hospitals connected with the Saturday and Sunday Hos- 
pital Association of New York City only about $182,000 was expended outside' of 
Manhattan and The Bronx, excluding the expenditures for a few hospitals connected 
with the Saturday and Sunday Hospital Association of New York City. The United 
Hebrew Charities and constituent societies, expended during this year for relief in 
Manhattan and The Bronx $358,575, the Charity Organization Society, $79,222, the 
Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, $90,512, the St. Vincent de Paul 
Society, $120,323. 

A former financial agent of one of these societies stated before the Commission 
that a large proportion of the relief paid by the charitable associations of the City 
was made necessary by the conditions of living in the City, and in this sense it might 
be regarded as unnecessary and wasted. A large proportion moreover of the public 
and private charitable institutions of the City are located in the congested sections 
of Manhattan and The Bronx, and in the rapidly congesting sections of Brooklyn. 
The inmates of these institutions are taught chiefly the occupations which will fit 
them for city life and not the occupations for rural or small town life. Thus the 
effect of the work of the public and private charitable institutions of the City has 
been by alleviating the conditions of congestion and preventing suffering to tend to 
anchor people in these sections, where healthy housing conditions are too costly for 
the unskilled or even semi-skilled wage earners of the City. 

13. Failure of the City to Adopt a Policy to Attract People to Outlying Boroughs. 

The policy of the City in the past has been to provide relatively adequate educa- 
tional and recreational opportunities for people hving in the congested districts of the 
City. The City has however been behind in furnishing similar opportunities in the 
outlying sections : Thus in 1910, there was an acre of park for every 1,614 of the popu- 
lation in Manhattan, for every 1,674 of the population in Brooklyn, and for every 1,374 
in Richmond. In The Bronx the population was 104 per acre of park, but in the 
built-up sections of The Bronx there are relatively few parks and playgrounds, and 
the total acreage is largely composed of a few large parks, such as Pelham Bay, 
Crotona and Van Cortlandt parks. There were in the same year, 1910, 47 evening 
schools in Manhattan, only 5 in The Bronx, and 33 in Brooklyn. In Manhattan, in 
1910, only 3.9 per cent, of the attendants at public school were on part time, in The 
Bronx 23.7 per cent, in Brooklyn 13.7 per cent.. Queens 11.4 per cent., in Richmond 
1.4 per cent. The average of the entire City was 10.1 per cent. A very large pro- 
portion of overcrowding of school rooms, moreover, was found in the outlying bor- 
oughs of the City. Such conditions have much to do with congestion of population 
in that they discourage its distribution to the less congested districts. It appears to 



20 

the Commission that very little effort has been made by the City to provide these dis- 
tricts vi^ith those conveniences which add so much to the pleasures of city life and for 
wrhose existence the inhabitants are dependent upon municipal action. The outlying 
sections do not seem to us to have received as generous treatment as they should have 
at the hands of the City, so far as concerns an ample supply of vi^ater and artificial 
light, police and fire protection and school provision, libraray and facilities for cul- 
ture. 

It should be noted too that comparatively little effort has been made by the City 
to train citizens or even school children for life outside of the congested centres. 
Thus, there v^fere only 31 school gardens in Manhattan in 1909, and 12 so-called school 
gardens in The Bronx. Out of the 29 vacation schools conducted also in 1910, 14 
were in Manhattan, only 1 in Queens, none in Richmond, with 13 in Brooklyn, mostly 
in the built-up section of the City, however. 

The City has conducted a farm garden in the upper west side of Manhattan. Very 
little, however, has been done to train children through the public schools for any- 
thing except congested city life or to instill into them a desire for homes with gar- 
dens outside of the congested sections of the City. 

14. Immigration. 

It is not primarily the extent of immigration which is responsible for the con- 
gestion of population, as has been intimated earlier in the report, but the lack of con- 
trol over the location of immigrants and supervision over them. The increase in 
population in this City has been very large. This is not, however, primarily due, and 
we must again emphasize it, to the fact that we have had immigration. The increase 
in population, it is believed, is due in large measure to the fact that New York is the 
most important port of entry for the immigrants who come to this country. These 
immigrants apparently have a much greater influence upon the congestion of the con- 
gested districts than their mere numbers would indicate. For the tendency of the 
immigrant is to take up his abode in the districts which are the most congested, and 
this tendency seems to be accelerated by the work of the various philanthropic and 
benevolent associations which attempt to ameliorate the lot of the immigrant. For 
example: the North American Civic League have arrangements by which they trans- 
fer immigrants from Ellis Island to their destination in the City. They report that 
during the period from October 5 to November 30, 1910, they transported 4.399 
im.migrants, exclusive of Hebrews. Of this number 384 were placed below Chambers 
street in Manhattan; 1,400 between Chambers street and 42d street; while 491 went 
to Brooklyn. 

The Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society reported that for the month 
of November, 1910, 782 immigrants immediately upon arrival were taken to their des- 
tination; 424 of these were located below 14th street in Manhattan, 114 in Manhattan 
north of 14th street. In other wards, nearly three-fourths were located in Manhattan ; 
while only one hundred and thirty-five or roughly, one-fifth, were destined for Brook- 
lyn and the suburbs, and only forty-nine for points outside of New York City. 

The same number of immigrants might have reached the United States and beep 
deflected directly throughout the country to sections where they are needed, but immi- 
gration without direction under the present laws has been a potent cause of congestion 
in New York City. 

The overcrowding of rooms, to which attention has been called, is in large meas- 
ure due to immigrants who come in such large numbers to this country. The Federal 
Immigration Commission reports that in 2,667 households of which they made investi- 
gation in New York City, 23.2 per cent, of the households had two or more occupants 
per room, while 10.2 per cent, had only two rooms per household. They also report 
•that of the 2,648 families investigated, of whom they have complete data, 1,944, or 
nearly three-fourths, had two persons or more per sleeping room; that 24.6 per cent 
of the families took lodgers or boarders, and in these families the average number 
of lodgers or boarders was 1.87 per room. 

This overcrowding is particularly noticeable in the case of Italians. In February 
and March, 1908, an investigation made of 174 scattered Italian families in lower 
Manhattan showed that out of 255 rooms occupied, 191 had three occupants or over 
per room. 

The immigrant is responsible in some measure at any rate for congestion m 
another way. His coming here not only increases the number of persons to be accom- 
modated but also has the effect of lowering wages for those who are here, with the 
result that overcrowding becomes necessary in order to pay the rent which is de- 
manded in the congested districts. 

Information was obtained by the sub-committee, on Labor and Wages to the 
effect that on the Catskill Aqueduct Construction Works there were two rates of 
wages paid, viz. : Those to the immigrants and those to the Americans, and that the 



21 

tendency of contractors was always to secure immigrants from New York City on 
account of the comparatively low wages which could be paid them. 

IV. Methods of Relieving and Preventing Congestion of Population and Room 
Overcrowding in America and Foreign Countries. 

(a) General Restrictions on Height or Volume of Buildings, Including the Area of 

Lot That May be Occupied by Buildings. 

The most striking fact with reference to the restriction on the height or volume 
of buildings is that in most foreign countries there are different regulations for 
different sections of the same city, whereas in American cities, with a few conspicuous 
exceptions, the regulations applying to the centre of the city apply through the 
entire area of the city. The restrictions upon the heights of buildings in several 
American cities and states were as follows in 1908: 

New Jersey, Chicago, Baltimore and Cleveland limit the height of tenements to one 
and one-half times the width of the widest street on which the building stands. San 
Francisco places no limit on fireproof structures, but limits all others to one and one- 
half times the width of the street. Boston places the limit at two and one-half times 
the width of the street, but permits no building to exceed one hundred and fifty feet 
and limits those on streets sixty feet wide or less to two and one-half times the width 
of the street. 

Washington limits all tenements to the width of the street between building lines, 
but never to exceed ninety feet. Providence limits all to ninty feet unless fireproof. 
Rochester permits no tenement to exceed in height four times its horizontal dimen- 
sion. 

(b) Percentage of Lot Area That May be Occupied in American Cities and Foreign 

Cities. 

In New Jersey no tenement house can occupy more than 90 per cent, of a corner 
lot, or more than 70 per cent of an interior lot. Connecticut, Cleveland, Baltimore and 
Washington all limit the occupancy of corner lots to 90 per cent. Chicago permits lots 
bounded by streets on 3 sides to occupy 90 per cent., but limits all other corner lots 
to 50 feet or less in width, but only 75 per cent, of the excess over 50 feet of corner lots. 
Connecticut, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington limit the occupancy of interior 
lots to 75 per cent., Baltimore to 70 per cent, and Cleveland to 65 per cent, 
(c) Zone System in Boston and Baltimore. 

By an Act of 1904, relative to the height of buildings in the City of Boston, the 
city is divided into two classes of two districts, designated districts A and B. The 
boundaries of these districts continue for a period of 15 years,_ and by the terms of 
the Act are determined in such manner that those parts of the city in which all or the 
greater part of the buildings situated therein were at the time of such determination 
used for business or commercial purposes, shall be included in the district designated 
A, and those parts of the city in which all or the greater part of the building situated 
therein were at the time used for residental purposes or for other purposes not busi- 
ness or commercial shall be in the district designated B. In the first district, A, no 
building may be erected to a height of more than 125 feet above the grade of the 
street, and in the second district, B, no building may be erected to a height of more 
than 80 feet above the grade of the street. This restriction, however, does not apply 
to grain or coal elevators, sugar refineries in any district designated A, nor to 
steeples, domes, towers or ciipolas erected strictly for ornamental purposes, fire-proof 
material on buildings of the above height or less in any district. _ By an Act of 1905, 
relative to the height of buildings in the City of Boston, a commission of three mem- 
bers was appointed by the Mayor to determine the height of buildings within the dis- 
trict designated B, (since in each part of the district designated B buildings may be 
erected exceeding 80 feet, but not exceeding 100 feet in height) and the height_ be- 
tween 80 feet and 100 feet to which buildings may be erected, and the conditions 
under which buildings could be so erected. Authority was given to this Commission 
to provide for the erection of buildings to a height not exceeding 125 feet inthat por- 
tion of district B which lies within 50 feet of the boundary line, separating said district 
B from the district designated as District A. It has also provided "No limitations 
of the height of buildings in the City (of Boston) shall apply to churches, steeples, 
towers, domes, cupolas or statuary not used for purposes of habitation nor to 
chimneys, gas holders, coal or grain elevators, open balustrades,_ skylights, ventilators, 
flagstaffs, railings, weather vanes, soil pipes, steam exhausts, signs, roof houses, not 
exceeding twelve feet square and twelve feet high, nor to other similar constructions 
such as are usually erected above the roof line of buildings." 

The constitutionality of this act was contested, and the case was carried to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, which decided on May 17, 1909 (Mr. Justice 



22 

Peckham delivering the opinion of the Court). "The ground of objection of plaintiff 
in error to this legislation is that the statutes unduly and unreasonably infringe upon 
his constitutional rights, (a) As to taking of property without compensation; (b) 
As to denial of equal protection of the laws." 

Mr. Justice Peckham further stated, "In relation to the discrimination or classifi- 
cation made between the commercial and the residential portion of the city, the State 
court holds in this case that there is reasonable ground therefor in the very great 
value of the land and the demand for space in those" parts of Boston where a greater 
number of buildings are used for the purpose of business or commercially than where 
the buildings are situated in the residential portion of the city, and where no such 
reason exist for high buildings. While so deciding the court cited, with approval, 
Commonwealth vs. Boston Arvertising Company, Mass. 348, which holds that the police 
power cannot be exercised for a merely aesthetic purpose. The court distinguishes 
between the two cases and sustains the present statutes. As to the conditions adopted 
by the commission for permitting the erection in either of the districts B, that is, the 
residential portion, of buildings of over eighty feet, but never more than one hundred, 
that the width on each and every public street on which the building stands shall be 
at least one-half its height, the court refuses to hold that such conditions was entirely 
for aesthetic reasons. The Chief Justice said: "We conceive that the safety of ad- 
joining buildings, in view of the risk of the falling of walls after a fire, may have en- 
tered into the purpose of the commissioners. We are of opinion that the statutes 
and orders of the commissioners are constitutional." 

"We are not prepared to hold that this limitation of eighty to one hundred feet, 
while in fact a discrimination or classification, is so unreasonable that it deprives the 
owner of the property of its profitable use without justification,_ and that he is there- 
fore entitled, under the Constitution, to compensation for such invasion of his rights. 
The discrimination thus made is, as we think, reasonable, and is justified by the 
police power." 

The judgment of the State court upholding the constitutionality of the act creating 
these two zones was thus affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States chiefly 
on the above grounds. 

A similar districting has also been made in Baltimore, Md. 

(d) Districting of Foreign Cities. 

Many continental cities have also established the principle of creating different 
districts with designated building regulations, varying according to local conditions.^ 

In the City of Dusseldorf, Germany, for instance, there are nine separate dis- 
tricts, the same number in Munich, while Cologne has six districts, each with its own 
designated and distinct building code and regulations. The height of the buildings 
in the districts in Cologne vary from 4 stories and mansard and a ground floor in 
■ one district with the permissible use of 80 to 75 per cent, of the lot area to a height of 
ground floor and two stories and the permissible use of only 40 per cent, of the lot 
area, while in one district building is in accordance with an arrangement with the city, 
and then only 50 per cent, of the covered area may be occupied. With the exception of 
Berlin, most of the large cities of Germany have such districts with varying heights of 
buildings and varying proportion of lot area occupied by buildings. A similar system 
of districting is common in Austria and Switzerland. Vienna has 5 districts, with regu- 
lations similar to those of Dusseldorf, Munich and Cologne. 

(e) Distribution of Factories by Prohibiting the Locating of Factories in Certain 

Districts. 

Owing to the desirability of eliminating the cost of transit and of carfare of 
workingmen in cost of production, the danger of permitting the concentration of 
factories in limited sections, and the desirability of keeping factories out of residential 
sections, part of the fundamental city plan of German cities is the wide distribution 
of factories, by prohibiting their location in certain districits. One of the notable illus- 
trations of the successful application of this regulation is in the city of Frankfort-on- 
the-Main, which has a population of approximately 450,000. Certain parts of the city 
are known as factory districts, and in these districts only workers in the factories 
located therein may reside. Other sections are called residential sections, and no 
factories may be located there, while in the third class of districts, known as mixed 
districts, both tenements and factories are permitted. In Toronto, Canada, also by 
Ordinances of 1910, the location of factories in certain sections of the city is prohibited. 

In many American cities the location of factories in certin districts is prohibited 
by private restriction. In both America and foreign countries, however, active assist- 
ance to the distribution of factories is afforded by the provision of means for carrying 
freight, by sidings, light railroads, or by improving the waterfronts. 



23 



(/) Fireproofing Requirements. 
In Chicago the construction of tenements over three stories in height has been 
practically prevented by section 450' of the Building Code, which requires that every 
new tenement more than 5 stories and basement shall be of fireproof construction and 
every new tenement of three stories and basoment and not more than 5 stories shall be 
of slow burning and fireproof construction. Certain hmits have been put upon the 
heights of buildings in different sections of Cleveland also by fireproofing requirements. 

ig) Restriction With Reference to the Width of Streets. 

In most European cities, outside of the countries to which reference has already 
been made, the height of the building is based upon the street widths, and the maximum 
height permitted in almost every case is under 100 feet, including all buildings, in 
London, the maximum height is, except by special consent of the London County 
Council 80 feet; while on streets less than 50 feet wide no buildings can exceed 
the width of the street. In Paris the maximum height is 91 feet, and there are further 
restrictions on streets less than 65 feet wide. In Berlin the maximum height is 
usually 50 feet (in streets to be built up one one side 60 feet) and except m special 
cases buildings may not exceed the street width. In Vienna the maximuni is 62 feet 
and not more than 5^ stories; additional towers, studios, etc., are allowed on streets 
60 feet wide, if they do not affect the sunlight. In Brussels the_ maximum height is 
69^ feet- on streets less than 49.5 feet wide the permitted height is less. _ 

In Many American cities, the height of buildings other than tenements is also 
limited by the width of the streets, thus in St. Louis, Washington and Boston bui dings 
may not exceed 100 feet on any street 40 feet wide, on streets 60 feet wide buildings 
may not exceed 110 feet in Washington, 125 feet in Boston, 150 feet m Cleveland and 
St Louis 175 feet in Baltimore and 260 feet m Chicago, and on streets 100 feet wide the 
same heights as on 60 feet wide are permitted in Washington, Boston and Chicago, 
200 feet in Cleveland and 206 feet in St. Louis, but an effort is being made m Chicago 
to reduce the maximum height from 260 feet to 20O feet. 

2. Methods of Taxation. 

Certain methods of taxation have been adopted in foreign countries, because of 
their effect upon preventing congestion of population, (a) Taxing land at a higher 
rate of taxation than buildings, (b) A tax upon the increment of land values, ihe 
former system of taxation is in vogue in a large number of Canadian cities, where 
the tax rate on land is double the tax rate on buildings. In many cities there is now 
being urged as a means of encouraging the construction of buildings and consequently 
reducing the rents, the removal of the tax entirely from buildings and the levying ot 
taxes upon land alone. 

In a number of Australasian countries, too, land is taxed at a much higher rate 
than buildings. . . . „ 

The tax on the increment of land values has been m operation m several Lrerman 
cities for a relatively few years. The testimony as to the effects of such atax on land 
speculation and keeping down the value of land and encouraging the building of cheap 
dwellings is conflicting. The Oberburgermeister of Frankfort, Dr. Addickes, is of the 
opinion that such a tax has this effect. On the other hand, a commission of the Senate 
of Hamburg informs us that the land increment tax has had no influence on either 
land speculation or the building of cheap dwellings and that it would be difficult to 
find proof that it has reduced land values. The present land increment tax was adopted 
in Hamburg in 1908. Prior to that time money made in land speculation was as income 
subjected to the income tax. The change was made in order to reach land owners not 
residents of the city. A communication from Hamburg calls attention to the fact that 
losses sustained in land speculation may be deducted from the income, subject to the 
income tax. 

In most German cities the taxation on increase of land values is levied at the time 
of sale. The tax is progressive in Frankfort-on-the-Main. If less than twenty years 
have elapsed since the date of last transfer a tax of 2 per cent, is levied on the increased 
value if it amounts to 15 to 20 per cent., anything under 15 per cent, being exempt, and 
10 per cent, of the increased value is taken if for more than 55 to 60 per cent, and an 
additional tax of 1 per cent, for every 5 per cent, increase in valuation to a maximum 
amount of 25 per cent. 

3. To Control Overcrowding and Sanitary Conditions. 
Most Tenement Laws in the United States require that there shall be in every 
apartment at least one room, with not less than 120 square feet of floor area, andthat 
all other rooms, with the exception of the water closet and bath rooms, must contain at 



24 

least 70 square feet of floor area. Cleveland and San Francisco have the maximum of 
other cities, but require all other rooms to contain 80 square feet, and in Boston the 
requirement for all other rooms is not less than 90 square feet, and also that all 
habitable rooms must be 9 feet in the clear from floor to ceiling. Chicago, Boston, 
Cleveland and San Francisco require them to be 8 feet 6 inches, while some cities 
permit them to be as low as 8 feet. 

The London County Council require that the minimum superficial area of one-room 
tenements must be 144 square feet, two-room tenements must have one room of this 
area, and one of at least 96 square feet. Similar provisions obtain in most English 
cities. 

With the exception of Cleveland, Rochester, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Den- 
ver, the uniform requirement of cities is that no room shall contain less than 400 cubic 
feet of air space for every person. Cleveland requires 500 cubic feet of air space for 
every adult, and 300 for every child under 12 years of age. Rochester requires 500 
cubic feet of air space for adults, and one-tenth as much floor space for every occupant 
of a room. New Orleans requires 6C0 cubic feet of air space, and in Denver the num- 
ber of occupants must not exceed one for every 700 culjic feet of air space, and the 
room must be provided with means for frequent renewal of air. 

Glasgow requires, in addition to this minimum of 400 cubic feet of air space, that 
in every apartment one room must contain 1,000 cubic feet, apartments of two rooms 
1,600 cubic feet, three rooms 2,400 cubic feet, and not more than 16 apartments are per- 
mitted in any tenement with an inside common staircase, or more than four separate 
apartments on any floor. Machinery for enforcing these regulations is provided in a 
num^ber of cities. Boston provides that the Board of Health may take reasonable regu- 
lations governing overcrowding. Glasgow employs what is known as "ticketed tene- 
ments" system, under which, whenever the cubical contents of tenements of not more 
than three rooms does not exceed 2,000 cubic feet, an inspector is required to affix to 
the door a ticket stating the number of occupants who may occupy the room as sleep- 
ing room, and a sanitary inspector may enter any -such apartment at any time of the 
day or night to see that the said provisions are not being violated, and the system ap- 
parently works without friction. Similar provisions exist in Liverpool, where also a 
common lodgng house or house allowing any lodger or occupied by members of more 
than one family, must be registered and be under the inspection of the Department of 
Health. Toronto, Canada, has similar provisions, and the law is enforced by sanitary 
inspectors, who have the right to enter any tenement or lodging house where there is 
reason to believe there is any overcrowding. A similar law is in force in Washington, 
D. C. Placards are placed upon the door of each sleeping room in tenements or lodg- 
ing houses stating the number of persons 10 years of age or over that may together 
occupy the room as a sleeping room. The agent or owner or person having charge of 
the buildiug is then notified that they shall not permit any such room to be occupied 
as sleeping rooms by a greater number of persons than stated on said placard. The 
Department has often had offenders fined for violating this regulation. The penalty 
is a fine of $100, or imprisonment in the workhouse for not more than ninety days, or 
both, such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the Court. 

Overcrowding of land is prevented also by additional regulations in different cities. 
London requires that the rear of every dwelling house open upon a space exclusively 
belonging to it of not less than 150 square feet, and in all cases the open space must be 
at least 10 feet wide and extend throughout the entire width of the building. Glasgow 
ensures open spaces by the provision that in front of at least one-half of every window 
in all sleeping apartments there must be an open space equal to at least three-fourths 
of the height of the wall in which each window is placed from the floor of the apart- 
ment to the roof of the building; such space to be measured in a straight line perpen- 
dicular to the plane of the window. 

Many large foreign cities have demolished large areas of unsanitary dwellings 
through clearance schemes. This has been attended with very large expense in prac- 
tically_ every city where it has been undertaken. The methods chiefly followed in Amer- 
ican cities to provide for the condemnation of insanitary buildings has been to declare 
them vacated. Provisions for vacating tenements and other buildings in New York 
City are made by the Charter, but little has been done in this respect here. Through 
the action of a special board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, during the first four and one-half years up to June 10, 1910, 1,024 
insanitary buildings were demolished in that district, and 1,226 were repaired and placed 
in sanitary and habitable conditions. 

The Board of Survey of Chicago has similar authority, and from October, 1908, 
to August 1, 1910, they ordered the demolition of 43 insanitary buildings, while 26 were 
repaired and made habitable. 



25 

4. City Policy of Distribution by Education. 

The value of educational effort and training for rural occupations 
has been appreciated and tried in a number of cities in this country and 
abroad. Ulm, Germany, follows the policy of teaching children gardening 
and encouraging the keeping of gardens, putting a premium on them by offering 
prizes. The city requires also that a certain proportion of the entire lot area shall be 
devoted to gardens in sections of the city, and that the gardens in front of the house 
occupied by working people shall be kept in good condition. Philadelphia, Cleveland 
and Washington, in this country, have also undertaken a far-reaching system of train- 
ing in gardening, arid have established these school gardens and farm gardens in vari- 
ous sections of the city under the charge of the Department of Education. In Phila- 
delphia, approximately $35,000 in a single year has been appropriated for this work of 
training children to live outside of the congested districts. The Vacant Lot Associa- 
tions also have done a good deal to interest people in removing from congested sections 
of the city, and this method has the encouragement in a number of foreign cities of 
exemption from taxation, while in American cities, holders of land often grant the use 
of land to the general public without any charge. 

5. Transit Lines as a Means of Distributing Population 
Transit lines may be used either to congest population or to distribute popula- 
tion. In Berlin, owing to the zone system of fares, high tenements of five and six 
stories are constructed right up to the zone limits with cheap fares ; the people living 
in these would be glad if the fare were vmiform to go where land is cheap and the 
rents lower. Many foreign cities, however, notably those of England, Scotland, 
Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium, have recognized the value of transit 
lines as a means of distributing population. 

In many American cities the transit lines have not been successful in securing 
the distribution of population, while the multiplicity of lines has resulted in the 
necessity for transfers. A few cities in the United States, however, have successfully 
required the construction of extensions as a means of distributing population. Thus 
the franchises of the Indianapolis Street Railway Company provides that the City 
"may require such reasonable extensions of the several lines of the street railway of 
the second part (the Indianapolis Street Railway Company), or the_ construction of 
any such individual lines as may be necessary for the efficient operation of such rail- 
way and for the convenience of the public." These extensions must also be_ con- 
structed within a reasonable time, to be fixed by the city itself. _ Similar provisions 
require such extensions by the Minneapolis street railway companies, and dates back 
to July 17, 1875. A similar clause was placed in the franchise of the Milwaukee Elec- 
tric Railway Company franchise, January 2, 1900. 

In the grant given to the Columbus Street Railway Company, February, 1901, it 
is provided that the Council may by ordinance require reasonable extensions of such 
of the Hues operated by this Company for the convenience of the public whenever 
along the lines of any such proposed extensions and between parallel lines 400 feet in 
distance on each side thereof there shall be when extensions are ordered not less 
than 150 separate buildings used or occupied as dwelHngs per mile, and in like pro- 
portion for any less distance, although the Company is not required to construct more 
than one mile of extension within one calendar year. The three cent fare line which 
is in operation in Cleveland has also been an important factor in securing the dis- 
tribution of population. 

6. Industrial Courts and Municipal Bureaus of Labor. 

Owing to the close relation between poverty and congestion of population and 
the fact that unemployment and underemployment are so largely causes of poverty, 
many foreign cities have organized Industrial Courts in which differences between 
employers and workers are settled by arbitration of an impartial court representing 
both interests affected and outside members as well. Most of the large English cities 
have also Municipal Labor Bureaus or exchanges, through which not only is em- 
ployment found for workers outside of the city, but by co-operation of local manu- 
facturers and employers of labor, thousands secure employment in the city. 

7. Municipal Housing, Co-operation of the State in Housing Enterprises. 

England has led in municipal housing, and while in most of the cities the cost 
of municipal housing has been a heavy charge upon the rate payers (taxpayers) of the 
cities, nevertheless it has resulted in diminishing congestion and room overcrowding. 
Formerly English municipalities constructed large tenements, but in recent years they 
have built chiefly one and two-family houses in the outlying sections of the cities, 
and effectively prevented overcrowding per acre in this way. In Germany, France, 
Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Austria, among continental countries, the State has co- 



26 

operated in securing better housing for the wage earning population by granting State 
aid and permitting loans by municipalities to co-operating housing enterprises and 
societies, whose net profit is limited to a low percentage. In Germany the Federal 
Government makes loans to municipalities from the accumulated funds of the State 
insurance for sickness, old age, etc., and the loan is made at the rate of from 3^ to 
4 per cent. There is in Germany practically no municipal construction of tenements 
except for municipal employees. 

8. Co-Partnership Housing. 
This movement, while of comparatively recent growth, is nevertheless an ex- 
tremely important method of enabling wage earners with limited incomes to secure 
their homes by owning shares of a co-partnership company to an amount equal to 
the value of their homes. This movement has been especially successful in England. 
A member of the co-partnership company who occupies a house pays rent, which in- 
cludes a certain amount applied to the acquisition of stock in the company, and when 
he has paid the cost of his house he ceases to pay rent and is paid a dividend on 
the stock held by him. 

9. TJie English Tozvn Planning Act. 
This Act was passed by Parliament in 1909, and has not been in operation a 
sufficient length of time to permit of any definite valuation of its effects in pre- 
venting congestion. A similar Act, however, passed in Liverpool several years ago, 
has reduced the maximum permissible density of population to under 100 per acre 
by restricting the number of cottages which may be constructed per acre. The 
English Town Planning Act provides that cities may restrict the number of cottages 
per acre in new sections of the city and may also determine the laying out or plan- 
ning of any development. By the terms of this Act, the same authority is given 
English municipalities as is exercised by German and other continental municipali- 
ties to prohibit the location of factories in certain sections of the city where their 
presence would tend to create congestion, and to encourage by this restrictive authority 
the distribution of factories so as to eliminate the cost of transit to the laborer, and 
hence to increase the value to him of his present wages. 

10. Garden Cities and Garden Suburbs. 

A movement of much promise, which, however, has not achieved much numerical 
success, is the Garden Cities and the Garden Suburbs movement, which tends to es- 
tablish manufacturing centres outside of the centres of great cities. In England, 
France and Germany, societies have been organized for the express purpose of en- 
couraging the location of factories at a distance of from 25 to SO miles from large 
centres of population, and also of encouraging the development of garden cities and 
suburbs within the boundaries of these great cities by establishing nuclei of factories 
of such number and of such variety that they may be supplemental and that at least 
some of them will be in operation during the entire year. 

Among the successful illustrations of garden cities may "be mentioned Bourne- 
ville, near Birmingham ; Port Sunlight, across the Mersey from Liverpool ; and Garden 
City, Herts County, about 45 miles from London. Large corporations in this country, 
such as the United States Steel Co., and its subsidiary companies, have also recognized 
the economic value of manufacturing in small centres. Gary, Indiana, and a number 
of small places in the manufacturing States of the South are illustrations of this 
effort to manufacture where operatives can live under more sanitary and economic 
conditions than is possible in the great cities. 

The clothing manufacturers of Chicago are also organizing a movement to re- 
move to the outskirts of the city and even outside of Cook County. 

11. Industrial Directories. 
Lack of information of the opportunities and advantages of manufacturing in 
small cities is one reason for the concentration of factories in large centres. The 
States of New Jersey and Massachusetts have attempted to overcome the concentra- 
tion of factories and consequently of population by securing and disseminating 
throughout the State information regarding manufacturing, industrial and economic 
advantages of manufacturing in small places. The State of New Jersey publishes 
annually an Industrial Directory, giving for all villages of over 100 population a 
statement of the advantages of manufacturing, including information regarding the 
railroad connections, freight rates, water power, natural resources, labor market, 
nationalities, etc., and as the result of this directory there has been a much wider 
distribution of population throughout the State of New Jersey than in New York 
State. 



27 

12. Small Holdings and Allotments. 

The State or Central Government in several continental countries and England 
have attempted to secure a wider distribution of population through the Small Hold- 
ings and Allotments Acts. This system has been very successful in Denmark. The 
report of the Scottish Deputation states: "There can be no doubt that in Denmark 
the Government, by the promulgation of the manv lavi^s so beneficial to the agricultural 
community, have attained the object w^hich all along they have had in view, namely, 
the arresting of the depopulation of the country, which was fast taking place, owing 
to the difficulty in finding employment and the consequent immigration to the towns 
and emigration to foreign countries. As the result of such a policy, in conjunction 
with the excellent methods of education and co-operation systematically carried on, 
we find a contented, intelligent and patriotic peasantry." 

There were in 1903 in Denmark, 232,936 holdings having a total acreage of 
6,479,402 acres, the average holding thus being about 23^ acres, and of these estates 90 
per cent, are occupied by their owners. 

Over 96,000 acres have been acquired under the Small Holdings and Allotment 
Act of 1908, by the English Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, by County Councils 
and the Councils of County Boroughs, or were under consideration by these legis- 
lative bodies on December 31, 1910. Of this acreage in England and Wales, 58.250 
acres were acquired by purchase and 37,861 acres by lease, representing a total of 
1,259 separate acquisitions of land. The size of the individual holdings vary from 
3 acres under certain conditions to a usual maximum of 16 acres. 

13. Co-operation. 
_ Foreign countries, as well as private individuals in foreign countries, have recog- 
nized that m order to attract people to farms and small towns, farming and life in 
small towns must be made not only more attractive, but more profitable. It has 
been_ found m foreign countries, as in the United States, that the farmer gets a 
relatively small part of the price paid by the consumer for his product, and a con- 
sistent and well-organized effort has been made to eHminate the middleman and 
to reduce the cost of farm produce to the consumer, as well as to increase the 
profits of the producers through co-operative stores. This has been uniquely suc- 
cessful in Denmark, where it is stated that owing to co-operation, the value of 
the peasant farm is 50 per cent, greater than the value in larger holdings, and at 
the sametime the cost of produce is reduced to the consumer in the city through 
co-operative stores. 

14. Outdoor Relief, Distress Committees and Relief Work. 

Most foreign countries have outdoor relief, that is, assistance to poor families 
in their homes. Where this relief is carelessly administered, it tends to anchor 
people in congested districts and in insanitary homes. Old age pensions in England, 
however, have had a marked effect upon the housing standard of the English poor. 
English cities have also organized Distress Committees to provide relief work for 
their poor, and much more attention has been given to this method than has been 
done in America. 

15. Compulsory Insurance. 

The necessity of saving a certain amount with the requirement that the em- 
ployer should also contribute toward sickness and old age pension, has had a 
marked effect in Germany in improving the housing standard of the wage earners 
after they are incapacitated from further earning, although the requirement that 
the workers should save a certain amount during their working period reduces to 
some extent the amount which they can spend for their housing or any other pur- 
pose. In the_ main, however, the compulsory development of legitimate thrift has 
had a beneficial effect in improving the standard of living. 

16. Emigration. 

Immigration to this country means emigration from foreign countries, and to 
the extent to which the pressure for employment has been reduced, the wages have 
tended to increase so that the pressure of population of many foreign countries has 
been materially reduced. 

17. Shortening Hours of Labor. 

No statistical information has been secured by the Commission as to the results 
of the gradual shortening of hours of labor, but opinions have been expressed by 
those _ qualified to judge that this has been an important factor in securing a dis- 
tribution of population employed in factories. 

18. Custom as an Effect in Securing Distribution of Population. 

It must be recognized that in many cities of the country, such as Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Washington, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Rochester and Buffalo, al- 



28 

though under the Building Laws and Tenement Laws the building of tenements of 
the same height as those permitted in New York City is legal, nevertheless, few 
tenements of over three stories in height have been constructed, while two-family 
houses predominate in most of these cities. This is primarily due to the inherited 
traditions and examples of the past, which have been extremely important factors 
in encouraging such construction and preventing until recent years the beginning 
of high tenements. 

19. Vocational and C ontinuation Schools. 

While the Commission has not made any investigation of the organization of 
the educational systems of foreign governments, it has noted that the cities in 
England and Germany have taken the lead in training young people as well as adults 
and increasing economic productiveness through vocational and continuation schools. 
The latter are largely conducted at night, and although a fee is often charged for 
the service, they are largely attended by young apprentices and mechanics and others 
desiring to increase their earning capacity. To some extent this has been done in 
American cities, including New York, in the past few years. 

20. Organized Labor. 

Unquestionably the most important and general private agency or organization 
in improving housing standards have been the labor unions throughout the world, 
since they have insisted that their members be paid enough to permit them to main- 
tain a reasonable_ standard of living and have placed housing as one of the funda- 
mental elements in a reasonable standard of living, while they have also shortened 
the hours of labor. Their efforts have, however, been chiefly successful in prevent- 
ing room overcrowding, except where they have secured better housing regulations, 
which would_ restrict congestion through preventing the intensive use of land and 
the construction of high buildings. 

21. Methods of Distributing Immigration. 

The system of distribution of immigrants in Canada, has, the Federal Immigra- 
tion Commission reports, been most successful. This is due largely to the develop- 
ment of western Canada and to the purpose of the government to populate that 
region with selected settlers. To further this end, Canada has developed an immi- 
gration policy which is officially expressed as follows : 

1. Money is expended and administration is exercised with the object of secur- 
ing irrimigrants whose purpose in life is to occupy farm lands, either as owners, 
tenants or laborers. 

2. Money is voted and administration is exercised with the object of excluding 
those whose presence in Canada would tend to add to the congestion of the towns 
and cities. 

Although Canada makes persistent effort to promote immigration from de- 
sirable countries, it attempts only to secure those who will work on farms. The 
Canadian law, although designed to exclude the same class of physical, mental and 
moral defectives and delinquents, as the Immigration Law of the United States, 
nevertheless does not contain any provisions regarding polygamists, anarchists or 
contract laborers, although such persons are specifically excluded by the United 
States Law. 

The Federal Immigration Commission report states : "The most striking fea- 
ture of the Canadian Immigration Law, and the one in which it differs most widely 
from the United States Law, is its flexibility or adaptability to emergencies or 
changed conditions. The Canadian Law confers almost unlimited power on the 
governor in council in matters respecting immigration. In fact, it would seem from 
the terms of the law that the administration could, if deemed desirable, not only 
prohibit any particular class of immigration, but practically prohibit all immigration 
to Canada. 

The Canadian Law and policy already developed under the law in this regard 
are clearly illustrated by reference to sections 10, 20 and 30 of the immigration act 
and to instances of procedure under such sections, section 10, above referred to, is 
as follows : 

The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make 
such orders and regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, as are considered neces- 
sary or expedient for the carrying out of this Act, according to its true intent and 
meaning, and for the better attainment of its object. 

In practice this section has evidently assumed an importance beyond what 
is suggested by a casual reference to its terms." 

The report of the Federal Immigration Commission also analyzes the pro- 
posed amendment to the Canadian Immigration Law as follows : 

"One feature of the above-mentioned bill, taken from the Australian Immigra- 



29 



tion Act, proposes to confer on the minister of the interior the right to_ issue a 
written permit to any person to enter Canada without being subject to provisions of 
the Immigration Act." On the other hand, it is proposed to invest the government 
with power to order undesirable immigrants to leave Canada. Other sections of 
the proposed law aim to give the governor in council authority to: 

(a) Prohibit the landing in Canada or at any specified port of entry in Canada 
of any immigrant who has come to Canada otherwise than by continuous journey 
from the country of which he is a native or naturalized citizen, and upon a through 
ticket purchased in that country. r^ , , 

(b) Prohibit the landing in Canada of passengers brought to Canada by any 
transportation company which refuses or neglects to comply with the provisions of 
this Act. 

(c) Prohibit for a stated period or permanently the landing in Canada or the 
landing at any specified port of entry in Canada, of immigrants belonging to any 
race deemed unsuited to the cUmate or requirements of Canada, or of immigrants 
of any specified class, occupation or character. ■ , , 

In short, it would appear from the proposed law that it is intended to confer 
upon the government the right to admit, exclude or deport immigrants whenever the 
circumstances warrant. 

"Although the number of immigrants rejected under the Canadian Act is pro- 
portionately much smaller than under the United States Law, Canada has an addi- 
tional safeguard, or second line of defense, in the provision of the Immigration Act 
which makes possible a general deportation of aliens^ who become public charges 
within "two years after their landing in the Dominion." ^^ 

Section 33 of the Immigration Act has, as the Commission reports, practically 
established a probationary period of two years during which admitted immigrants 
may be effectively tested physically, mentally, morally and industrially, and de- 
ported to the countrv whence they came if found unworthy. _ The deportation pro- 
vision m the present" Canadian immigration law became effective July 13, 1906. De- 
portations were possible, however, previous to that time, and the record shows that 
between January 1. 1903, and March 31, 1909, 3,148 aliens were deported." 

The Commission continues: "Canada's contract labor pohcy is exceedingly 
interesting in comparison with the United States poHcy in that regard. An immi- 
o-rant coming to Canada without having first assured himself that some definite 
employment awaits him is quite likely to be debarred on that account from enter- 
ing, while an immigrant who comes to the United States with such assurance and 
admits it, is necessarily excluded as a contract laborer." 

V Recommendations of the Commission for Relieving the Present and Prevent- 
ing Future Congestion of Population and Room Overcrowding. 

1. Restriction of the Height or Volume of Buildings Other Than Tenements. 

(a) That no building hereafter to be erected in Manhattan, south of the south 
side of 181st st., shall exceed a cubage or volume of 174 times the area of the lot, and 
that no building be altered to exceed this cubage. This means that no 
buildino- shall exceed a height of 174 feet covering the entire area of the lot. 
If each story were 12 feet in height this would permit of a height of 14 stories 
with a basement, which would not in any way seriously affect existing land values 
since a large part of the values of the site is due to accessibility to the multitudes on 
thoroughfares for stores and commercial purposes, on the first floor. 

(b) That no building hereafter to be erected in any part of New York City, ex- 
cept in Manhattan, south of the south side of 181st st., shall exceed a cubage or vol- 
ume of 120 times the area of the lot, and that no building in this district shall be al- 
tered to exceed this cubage. This means a restriction to about ten stories covering the 

entile area of the lot. . • , • w . t_ • j 

(c) That every building over four stones or 50 feet in height to be occupied as a 
factory loft, warehouse or other miscellaneous buildings be of fireproof construction. 

(d) That when the height of any building except one to be used as a factory, loft, 
warehouse or other miscellaneous buildings does not exceed one hundred feet (in- 
stead of twelve stories, or more than one hundred and fifty feet, as provided in the 
present building code), the doors and windows and their frames, the trims, the cas- 
ings, the interior finish when filled solid at the back with fireproof material, and the 
floor boards and sleepers directly underneath may be of wood. 

(e) That when the height of any fireproof building except one to be used as a 
factory loft warehouse or other miscellaneous building exceeds one hundred and fifty 
feet no wood may be used in the floors or as sleepers even if treated by some process 
now approved by the Board of Buildings to render them fireproof, nor for the inside 



30 

window frames and sash, doors, trim and other interior finish as permitted by the 
present building code. 

(f) That no factory or loft building hereafter to be erected shall exceed a cubage 
or volume of one hundred and thirty-two times the area of the- lot, and that no build- 
ing hereafter altered to exceed this cubage or volume shall be used for factory or 
loft purposes. 

2. Restriction Upon the Lot Occupancy of Buildings Other Than Tenements. 

(a) That at the year of every factory and loft building hereafter erected, there 
shall be provided a yard open and unobstructed from "the street level to the sky across 
the entire width of the lot and of a depth equal to one-tenth of the height of the build- 
ing, but in no case less than one-tenth of the depth of the lot, or if the lot be_ under 
one hundred feet in depth, of a depth of less than ten feet and that no premises or 
building hereafter erected shall be converted to or occupied as a factory or loft that 
does not conform to this requirement. 

(b) That there shall be a yard extending across the rear of lot of every dwelling 
hereafter erected to be occupied by more than one family equal to 10 per cent, of the 
depth of the lot, unobstructed from the ground level to the sky, and all rooms of such 
dwellings shall open and ventilate upon a street, yard, or court, not less than 4 feet 
wide or upon an offset to such court the depth of which does not exceed the width of 
same. 

3. Restriction Upon the Height of Tenements. 

(a) That no tenement house hereafter erected shall exceed in height the width 
of the widest street upon which it stands and that no tenement shall be increased in 
height, so that it shall exceed in height the width of the widest street upon which it 
stands. 

(b) That no tenement house hereafter erected in The City of New ^ork, except 
in the Borough of Manhattan, south of the south side of 181st st. shall exceed four 
stories in height, except that for every fifteen percentum of the lot area left unoc- 
cupied less than the maximum occupancy that is now legally permissible an additional 
story shall be permitted and a tenement house may be five stories high without being 
of fireproof construction if it occupy fifteen percentum less of the lot area than is now 
legally permissible. 

(c) That every tenement house hereafter erected exceeding four stories or parts 
of stories or fifty feet in height above the curb level shall be a fireproof tenement 
house, and that no tenement house be altered so as to exceed such height without 
being made a fireproof tenement house. 

(d) That tenements in outlying districts of the City be restricted to three stories 
in height and an equivalent restriction be put upon the volume or cubage of all build- 
ings other than tenements, and that the Board of Aldermen and Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment should determine these districts or zones for a period of twenty years. 
4. Modifications of the Tenement House Law Respecting Three-Family Tenements 

to Encourage the Construction of These Small Tenements with Few Families, as 
Follows: 

(a) That buildings not exceeding 30 feet in height, need not have fire-escapes or 
stairs extending to the roof. 

(b) That in tenement houses hereafter erected, not exceeding three stories and 
cellar in height, and arranged to be occupied by not more than one family on a floor 
and three families in all, in lieu of stairs there shall be an iron ladder to the roof 
placed at an angle of 60 degrees, and constructed as required by the Tenement House 
Law, and that the width of stairs in such a three-story tenement be two feet and nine 
inches. 

(c) That a scuttle shall be provided for a three-family tenement, twenty- four by 
thirty-six inches, with a scuttle cover provided with a counter balance weight. 

(d) That in tenements not exceeding three stories in height, the stair-wells may 
be reduced to a width of ten inches to extend from entrance floor to the roof. 

(e) That windows in three-family tenements may be placed in vent shafts in_ ex- 
isting buildings when windows are used to afford additional light in halls, provided 
that such windows are stationary and frames are fireproof and glazed with ^yire glass. 

(f) That in three-story buildings where the bulkhead to the roof is omitted, fire- 
escapes and balconies with connecting ladders be placed on the rear of the building 
in accordance with such regulations as may be adopted by the Tenement House De- 
partment. 

5. Measures to Prevent Room and Apartment Overcrowding. 
(a) That no room in any tenement house hereafter to be constructed shall have 
a superficial area of less than 90 square feet, and that in every apartment there must 
be at least one room whose superficial area is at least ISO square feet. 



31 

(b) That no apartment in a tenement house or two-family house shall be so over- 
crowded that there shall be afforded less than 400 cubic feet of air space for every 
adult, and 300 cubic feet of air space for every child under 12 years of age occupying 
such apartment, and that a penalty of a fine not to exceed $25 shall attach for each vio- 
lation of this provision. The provision of the present Tenement House Law regard- 
ing room overcrowding applies to rooms, but it is not feasible in the judgment of the 
Commission to enforce this in rooms, since they vary so in dimensions and cubical con- 
tents, and the Commission therefore recommends that apartment instead of rooms be 
made the measure of occupancy. 

(c) That a placard should be posted by the Tenement House and Health De- 
partments in a conspicuous place in every apartment of tenement houses, and in two- 
family houses respectively, calling attention to the fact that the law forbids more than 
the stated number of adults and children to occupying the apartment, and to the pen- 
alty attaching to a violation of this law. 

(d) That no lessee of any department in any tenement house shall be permitted 
to take lodgers without notifying in writing the owner or responsible agent of the 
tenement or dwelling, who shall immediately report to the Tenement House Depart- 
ment, and that a penalty not to exceed $25 shall attach for each violation of this pro- 
vision. 

(e) That the owner or responsible agent of every tenement and two-family dwell- 
ing be required to report to the Tenement House Dpartment and the Department of 
Health respectively any violation of the law against overcrowding on the part of his 
tenants, where he is unable personally to prevent such overcrowding by serving the 
tenant with a written statement (of which the owner is to keep a copy), that he is 
violating the law, and that the lessee of an apartment in a tenement house secure a 
license from the Tenement House Department and the lessee of an apartment in a 
two-family house secure a license from the Departmnt of Health before taking 
lodgers. 

(f) That a Bureau of Occupancy be created in the Department of Health charged 
with the enforcement of the law against overcrowding in apartments of two-family 
houses. 

6. Measures to Secure Better Conditions of Labor. 

First — The enlargement of the State Department of Labor in New York City by 
providing : 

(a) A Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York City. 

(b) More Factory Inspectors. 

(c) Appropriate legislation to enable the State Department of Labor to en- 

force its regulations. 

Second — The creation of an Industrial Commission for New York City composed 
of three persons, one to be nominated by the Employers' Associations of the City, one 
by the Labor Unions of the City and one to be selected by the Mayor and all to be 
appointed by him. The duties of this Industrial Commission to be : 

To investigate labor conditions and wages paid both skilled and unskilled workers 
of every class in the City, whether organized or not, and to investigate disputes when 
strikes or lockouts are threatened and after they occur. 

Third — The creation by legislation of a series of employment offices in the larger 
cities of the State with special provisions for well equipped offices of this nature in 
New York City, or the creation of a Municipal Employment Bureau with several 
branches in New York City, including at least one in each Borough, which should keep 
a record of the opportunities for employment in New York City and outside, and fur- 
nish this information free or at a minimum charge to all looking for employment. 

Fourth — The creation of a National Department of Labor, which should be co- 
ordinate with the Department of Commerce, the duties of this Department to be two- 
fold: 

(a) To give the widest publicity throughout the State and country to the 

opportunities for work by a system of Labor Bureaus or Exchanges 
in different sections of the country. 

(b) To give the widest publicity throughout the country to the conditions 

of labor, and wages paid, permanency of employment and local con- 
ditions. 

7. Measures to Secure a Better Distribution of Factories. 
(a) That 500 cubic feet of air space be provided for every employee of any fac- 
tory instead of 250 cubic feet of air space, as at present, and not less than 600_ cubic 
feet of air space for every employee when employed between the hours of 6 in the 
evening and 6 in the morning, under the provisions of the present Labor Law. 



32 

(b) By adequate improvement of the waterfronts in all Boroughs with piers and 
docks for factory purposes and with warehouses. 

(c) That freight lines be built connecting all the Boroughs as soon as possible. 

(d) That the ferriage charges for trucks on Municipal Ferries be equalized to the 
present minimum. 

(e) Further provisions for carrying trucks on Municipal Ferries by altering the 
existing boats so that they can carry four lines or rows of trucks, and by requiring 
that boats to be constructed in the future have the same capacity for trucks. 

8. Recominendations Regarding Parks, Playgrounds, Schools and Recreation 

Centres. 

(a) That the City acquire land early in advance of future public needs. 

(b) That land for parks in the outlying Boroughs should be paid for partly by 
the property benefited, partly by the Borough in which located, and partly by the City 
at large. 

(c) That adequate appropriations be made for the maintainance of parks and 
playgrounds and for their supervision 

(d) That adequate appropriation be made to the Department of Education to pro- 
vide a teacher for every 40 pupils in the elementary schools on the basis of the regis- 
tration, and within one-third of a mile of the homes of pupils ten years of age and 
under, and three-quarters of a mile of the homes of pupils over ten years of age, and 
further that a suitable schoolroom be provided on the same basis for every 40 pupils 
registered, 

(e) That no school building outside of Manhattan should be over three stories 
in height nor have accommodations for more than 1,500 pupils, and that not more than 
40 seats should be provided in ordinary classrooms in any elementary school. 

(f) That adequate yard area should be purchased with every school site, so as to 
accommodate the children of the neighborhood. 

(g) That the Department of Education be requested to give more instruction in 
physiology and hygiene, and impress upon the children the evils of room overcrowding 
and its physical effects. 

(h) That greater provision be made for school farms and training in gardening. 

(i) That the City provide more parks and playgrounds and recreation centres in 
the outlying districts. 

9 Measures to Keep Land Cheap and Promote the Provision of Good and Cheap 

Housing. 

(a) That the rate of taxation upon all buildings be half the rate of taxation upon 
all land, and that this reduction be secured by an equal change in each of five con- 
secutive years 

(b) The question of recommending an unearned increment tax has been strongLv 
advocated before the Commission. The principal argument advanced in support of the 
imposition of such a tax is that in nearly every instance where real estate values have 
increased such increase has been due wholly to public improvements and to the 
general development of the City, and in no way to action on the part of the property 
owner. 

Some members of the Commission have strongly urged that this Commission 
should advocate such a tax to be levied annually on the increase in the assessed valua- 
tions of land^the proceeds of the tax to constitute a fund to be used exclusively for 
the construction of rapid transit undertakings. 

The Commission has refrained from making such a recommendation because 
they believe that the subject requires greater study and investigation than they have 
been able to give it, and because there is a division of opinion among the members as 
to the expediency of such a tax at present. The Commission, however, refer this 
question to the officers of the City Government, with the request that it be examined 
and considered by them, and that public hearings be had in order to determine what 
action, if any, should be taken by the City with respect to this tax. 

(c) That as a means of ascertaining the true price of land and of taxing it justly, 
the true price be required to be registered when the property is sold, so that the taxing 
officials may have definite information upon which to base their assessment. 

Since a comprehensive system of transit is preferable for uniform and universal 
transfers and unified operation, and since subways and elevated lines furnish the key 
to urban transit systems and the control of these expensive links will, sooner or later, 
bring complete control of all street railway transit facilities, the following measures 
are advocated for the adequate development of the City's transit system : 

(d) That the existing perpetual franchises should be terminated as opportunity 
offers by forfeiture, where, through neglect or non-compliance with the law, they 
should be forfeited, or through condemnation or through purchase or through negotia- 
tion, substituting modern short or indeterminate franchises for theni. 



33 

(e) That the transit system of the city should be extended so as to utilize to their 
full capacity the subways, bridges and elevated lines, and so as to bring people from 
the outlying Boroughs directly into the principal business districts with quick service 
and for a single fare. . ^ , ^. , , , u 

(f) That lines should be run into all sections of the City, although some such 
lines may not pay money profits at first, because they will be extremely profitable from 
the point of view of conserving the general welfare and prosperity of the citizens, and 

in developing the City. , ^ • , r .i. /^ v u 

(g) That the City extend its lines to the Queens side of the Queensborough 
Bridge and through the Steinway Tunnel into several portions of the Borough of 
Queens, and if this fails that the franchise for the use of the bridge and tunnel should 
provide for the operation for one fare, of extensions, into Queens. 

(h) That all franchises for the operation of surface, elevated or subway hues shall 
contain a provision for transfers to and from all such lines which they own, operate 

or control. • , -, , • ..i ti u 

(i) That a subway should be constructed as early as possible into the Borough 
of Richmond, to provide equal transit for its extensive area, and that pending the 
completion of such a route forty tickets should be sold for $1.00 on the Municipal 
Ferry to Richmond for the relief of people of small or moderate means who hve 
there. This is advocated because the City has constructed at enormous expense 
bridges connecting all other boroughs with Manhattan, and the use of these bridges is 
free, while there is no free connection with Richmond. -^ ,,■ 

(j) That the Rapid Transit Law be so amended as to confer upon the Fubhc 
Service Commission and the City authorities the same powers with respect to surface 
lines as they now have with respect to rapid transit lines. 

(k) The preparation by the City through the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment of a plan for the entire City which shall include the following items : 

(1) The restriction of factories to certain districts. . 

(2) The provision of transit lines and means of carrying freight upon the basis 
of such a districting of the City. 

(3) The determination of the main lines of streets and secondary streets as sug- 
gested by Mr. Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the Board of Etimate and Appor- 
tionment. ,. , , t ^ r 

(4) Provision of sewers and methods of sewage disposal and substructures lor 

pipes. , 

(5) Provision of adequate sites for parks and playgrounds and recreation centres 
and Municipal buildings of various parts. 

(6) Acquisition of adequate land by the City for all pubhc purposes. 

0) That as a means of reducing rents, and with the sanction of the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment in each case, streets in outlying districts may be 30 
feet wide, and houses be set back from 15 to 20 feet from the curb line so as to per- 
mit the widening of street subsequently at a small expense. 

(m) That subways for passengers be provided at crowded street crossings. 

(.n) Excess condemnation of land, through which the city may acquire more land 
than is required for a specific improvement, and resell or rent the surplus. 
10. Measures to Promote Health and Safety. 

(a) That when in the judgment of the Tenement House Department the minimum 
requirement of window space and other means of ventilation and lighting required by 
the law are not sufficient in any tenement house apartment to make rooms sanitary 
and habitable, said Department shall be empowered upon a certificate being signed by 
two medical inspectors as to the above facts to cause the vacating of said apartment 
or part thereof in the manner prescribed by law. 

(b) That a staff of medical inspectors who are qualified physicians shall be as 
signed by the Department of Health to the Tenement House Department, who shalJ 
pass upon all cases of vacating of an insanitary tenement house or part thereof in 
which there may be any contagious disease or which is unfit for human habitation,, 
except in the case of new tenements awaiting a certificate of compliance. 

(c) That the Tenement House Department of The City of New York shall at: 
such times and in such manner as may to it seem best cause an inspection and ex- 
amination to be made of all tenement houses, and wherever it shall be found that 
any such tenement house or part thereof is infected with contagious disease or that 
it is unfit for human habitation or occupancy, or dangerous to life or health' by reason 
of want of repair or defects in the drainage, plumbing, lighting, ventilation, or the 
construction of the same, or by reason of the existence on the premises of a nuisance 
likely to cause sickness among the occupants of said house, the Department shall issue 
an order requiring all persons therein to vacate such house or part thereof within not 



34 

less than twenty-four hours nor more than ten days, for the reasons to be mentioned in 
said order, and that the Board of Health should cause a similar inspection and ex- 
amination to be made of all buildings other than tenements. 

(d) That whitewashing of tenement house walls every year be required by law. 

(e) That in tenement houses not exceeding four stories in height 
and not having more than two families on each iioor, with courts of the width now 
required, a family be permitted to occupy the basement. 

(f) That the Commissioner of the Tenement House Department be made a mem- 
ber of the Board of Health, with a vote on all matters pertaming to his Department. 

{g) That manufacturing in tenement houses be adequately regulated and if 
possible prohibited by law. 

11. Measures to Promote the Distribution of Population Through Municipal Control 
Over Charities and by Public Outdoor Relief. 

(a) The creation of a Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor Relief to be pro- 
vided with an office, administrator and investigators which shall supervise the dis- 
pensing of outdoor relief to the dependent members of families of consumptives when 
after investigation into the circumstances of all such persons, it is established that 
the dependent members of the family of such consumptive or consumptives are not able 
to maintain themselves, provided however, that the dependent members of the family 
of such consumptive or consumptives move into a section of the City where the popu- 
lation is not greater than three hundred to the acre in the ward, and provided, also, 
that the dependent members of the family of such consumptive or consumptives are 
living under such surroundings as are approved by this Board or their representatives. 

{b) That this Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor Relief shall have power to^ 
dispense outdoor relief to indigent widows with children, if such widows are com- 
petent to care for their children, provided, however, that they care for their children 
themselves and that they live in a ward having a density of less than three hundred 
to the acre and under such surroundings as are approved by this Board of Trustees 
of Public Outdoor Relief, or their representatives. 

(c) The creation in the Comptroller's Office of a bureau for the supervision 
of all charitable institutions in The City of New York whose property is exempt from 
taxation under paragraph 7, of section 4 of the Tax Law. 

The Chief Officer of this Bureau should be called the examiner of institutions 
and be appointed by the Comptroller to investigate the work done by these institutions 
and methods of accounting and report to the Comptroller from time to time as to 
whether these institutions are doing work which entitles them to exemption from 
taxation and should make recommendations to the institutions regarding the conduct 
of their work. The Comptroller should be authorized to appoint for the work. of 
this Department as many expert accountants, examiners of accounts and other 
employees as he deems necessary, 

{d) That the City encourage the removal of charitable institutions, except emer- 
gency hospitals and similar institutions, from the congested districts. 

{e) The extension of the principle of the City Farm Colony and the acquisition 
of tracts of land by the City in the outlying boroughs for the extending of the work 
of the City Farm Colony and for teaching adults methods of earning a living such as 
agriculture and gardening. 

(/) That the private charities of the City be urged to dispense their relief so as 
to encourage the distribution of population from congested districts and to encourage 
the recipients of their relief to learn other trades than those of congested city life. 

12. Recommendation Regarding Immigration. 

(a) Abolition of the time limit on the Government's right to deport aliens for 

(b) Progressive legislation looking toward the effective control over aliens by 

the Federal Government. . . , , ^ t^ ^ 4. j: 

(c) That the Bureau of Industries and Immigration of the State Department ot 
Labor be urged to encourage the immigrants to become farm laborers and to dis- 
courage the segregating of immigrants in congested sections of this City. 

(d) Measures to prevent artificial stimulation of immigration. 

(e) The establishment of City and State farms on the principles of those State 
institutions which have proved successful. _ . , . , , , , , 

(/) Publication of information as to the opportunities m high schools and eise- 
where to learn the English language. . ,. ^ , 

(g) Change of Federal and State laws to provide for the immediate deporta- 
tion of convicted aliens to relieve the overcrowding conditions of our State Penal 
Institutions, in which there is a large proportion of alien convicts. 



35 

13. Recommendations Regarding Delinquency in Congested Districts. 

(a) The closing of streets in the congested' districts during certain hours of the 
day so that the children of those districts may use them for playgrounds. 

(b) That the Department of Education be urged to arrange talks for mothers 
on the danger to children of occuping rooms with lodgers. 

(c) That more physical exercise be provided for children in the Public Schools. 

14. Recommendations Regarding Public Squares and Buildings. 

(a) That there should be in every borough at least one large area for the pub- 
lic administration buildings in the Borough and a series of sub-civic centers with 
groupings of administration buildings. 

{b) That there should be in each borough a grouping of public buildings such 
as schoolhouses, libraries, etc., except lire stations, in a park with open grounds around 
them. 

(c) That the City provide recreational playhouses or at least sites for these in 
the civic centres. 

The foregoing report is hereby respectfully submitted by order of the Commis- 
sion. JACOB A. CANTOR, Chairman. 

The following are the bills and ordinances proposed by the Commission to carry 
their recommendations into effect: 
AN ORDINANCE to amend the Building Code of The City of New York by the 

substitution for the present section 9 of a new section to be known as section 9, 

deiining factories and lofts and limiting the construction thereof, and limiting the 

use of lots. 

Be it enacted by the Board of Aldermen of The City of New York as follows : 

Section 1. The Building Code of The City of New York is hereby amended by 
the substitution for the present section 9 of a new section to be known as section 9, 
to read as follows : 

Section 9. A factory or loft building shall be construed to include every building 
occupied wholly or in part by any mill, workshop or any other manufacturing or busi- 
ness establishment where one or more persons are employed at labor. At the rear of 
every factory or loft building hereafter erected there shall be provided a yard open 
and unobstructed from the street level to the sky across the entire width of the lot 
and of a depth equal to one-tenth of the height of the building, but in no case less 
than one-tenth of the depth of the lot, or if the lot be under one hundred feet in 
depth, or a depth less than ten feet. No premises or building hereafter erected shall 
be converted to, or occupied as a factory or loft building that does not conform to 
this requirement. No factory or loft building hereafter to be erected shall exceed a 
cubage or volume of 132 times the area of the entire lot upon which it is located. 
No building hereafter to be constructed shall be converted to or be occupied as a 
factory or loft building unless it conforms to this requirement. 

Sec. 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter in relation to Insanitary Rooms 

or Apartments. 

The People of the State of New Y'ork, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section twelve hundred and ninety-nine of the Greater New York 
Charter, as re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of nineteen 
hundred and one, is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 1299. Infected and Uninhabitable houses to be Condemned by Board of 
Health — [Whenever it shall be certified to the Board of Health of The City of New 
York by the Sanitary Superintendent or an Assistant Sanitary Superintendent that any 
building or any part thereof in The City of New Y'ork is infected with contagious 
disease, or by reason of want of repair has become dangerous to life, or is unfit for 
human habitation because of defects in drainage, plumbing, ventilation, or the con- 
struction of the same, or because of the existence of a nuisance on the premises, 
which is likely to cause sickness among its occupants, the said Board of Health may 
issue an order requiring all persons therein to vacate such building or part thereof 
for the reasons to be stated therein as aforesaid.] The Board of Health of The City 
of New York shall at sucli times and in such manner as may to it seem best, cause an 
inspection and examination to be niade of all buildings other than tenements in The 
City of New York, and wherever it shall be found that any such building or part 
thereof is infected with contagious disease, or by reason of want of repair has be- 
come dangerous to life or is unfit for human habitation or occupancy because of de- 
fects in drainage, lighting, plumbing, ventilation, or the construction of the same, or 
because of the existence of a nuisance on the premises, which is likely to cause sick- 



36 

ness among its occupants, the said Board of Health shall issue an order requiring alt 
persons therein to vacate such building or part thereof for the reasons to be stated 
herein as aforesaid. 

Said Board shall cause said order to be affixed conspicuously in the building or 
part thereof and to be personally served on the owner, lessees, agent, occupant, or any 
person having the charge or care thereof; if the owner, lessee or agent cannot be found 
in The City of New York or does not reside therein, or evades or resists service, then 
said order may be served by depositing a copy thereof in the post-office, in The City 
of New York, properly enclosed and addressed to such owner, lessee, or agent at his. 
last known place of business and residence, and on prepaying the postage thereon; 
such building or part thereof shall, within ten days after said order shall have been 
posted and mailed as aforesaid, or within such shorter time, not less than twenty-four 
hours, as in said order may be specified, be vacated, but said Board of Health, when- 
ever it shall become satisfied that the danger from said building or part thereof has- 
ceased to exist, or that said building had been repaired so as to be habitable, may 
revoke said order. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ORDINANCE to restrict the cubage or volume of all buildings hereafter to be 
constructed in The City of New York. 

Be it Ordained by the Board of Aldermen of The City of New York as fol- 
lows : 

Section 1. No building hereafter to be erected in the Borough of Manhattan, 
south of the south side of 181st street, shall exceed a cubage or volume of one hun- 
dred and seventy-four times the area of the lot upon which it is located, and no build- 
ing hereafter to be erected in The City of New York, except in the Borough of Man- 
hattan, south of the south side of 181st street shall exceed a cubage or volume of one 
hundred and twenty times the area of the lot upon which it is located. No building 
now erected in either of these two district shall be altered to exceed the maximum, 
cubage permitted in such district. 

Sec. 2. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter by creating a Board of Trustees 
of Public Outdoor Relief in The City of New York. 

The people of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do- 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Chapter thirteen of the Greater New York Charter as re-enacted by 
chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and nine is hereby 
amended by the addition of a new title to be known as title five thereof, which shall' 
contain a new section and to read as follows : 

Title V. 

Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor Relief in The City of New York. 

Section 693-bl. On the first day of July, nineteen hundred and eleven, the au- 
thority to dispense public outdoor relief as provided in this section shall be vested in a 
board of trustees which shall be known as the Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor 
Relief, and which shall on this date undertake the duties herein prescribed. 

Said Board of Trustees shall consist of seven residents of The City of New York, 
together with the commissioner of public charities, ex-officio. In the month of June,, 
nineteen hundred and eleven, the Mayor of The City of New York shall appoint one 
resident of The City of New York to serve as such trustee for the term of one year, 
one for the term of two years, one for the term of three years, one for the term of 
four years and one for the term of five years, one for the term of six years and one 
for the term of seven years, from the first day of June, nineteen hundred and eleven. 
In the month of July, and on or before the twentieth day thereof, prior to the expiration 
of the term of office of any trustee, the mayor shall appoint his successor for the full 
term of seven years. The mayor shall fill any vacancy in the board caused by the 
death of a trustee, his resignation, removal from the city or otherwise, by the appoint- 
ment of a trustee to hold office for the unexpired term. Every person appointed to 
serve as such trustee shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and 
.subscribe the oath of office prescribed by the constitution of the state. 

2. For the purpose of making the appointments aforesaid, the- said mayor shall 
call upon the president or other executive head of each of the following organizations, 
to wit : The United Hebrew Charities of The City of New York, the Particular Council 
of New York of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in New York, the New York 
Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, the Charity Organization So- 
ciety of The City of New York, the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities and the Central 
Labor Union of Brooklyn to present a list of not less than twice the number of per- 



37 

sons to be appointed members of said board of trustees, to fill a vacancy or otherwise. 
Notice in writing of the dates in which appointments, including the first, to said board 
of trustees are proposed to be made shall be given by the mayor to each of said presi- 
dents or other executive heads at least ten days prior thereto, and such list of names 
shall be so presented within three days after the receipt of such notice. Said presi- 
dents or other executive heads may each submit, or two or more of them may jointly 
present, such a list of names. Appointments to said board of trustees may in the 
■discretion of the mayor be made from such list or lists. 

3. No trustee shall receive compensation for his services, materials or supplies of 
any kind to or for said relief by contract, or otherwise. No trustee shall hold any 
oftice of emolument under the city, county, state or national government, except the 
offices of notary public, or commissioner of deeds or offices in the national guard. 

4. Said board of trustees shall organize within ten days after said trustees are 
appointed. It shall annually choose from its members, at a regular meeting to be held 
in the month of January, a president and a secretary for the term of one year. It 
shall establish rules and regulations for the administration and dispensing of said public 
outdoor relief. It shall administer the moneys appropriated for said public outdoor 
relief, subject to the general provisions of this act relative to the audit and payment of 
claims. Said board shall have power to appoint and at pleasure to remove such super- 
intendents, subordinate officers and other employees as may be necessary for the 
efficient administration of said public outdoor relief, subject to the civil service laws 
and the rules and regulations of the municipal civil service commission. The board 
of trustees shall keep accurate and detailed accounts, in a form approved by the 
Comptroller, or all moneys received and expended by it, the sources from which they 
are received and the purposes for which they are expended. It shall, during the month 
of January in each year transmit to the mayor a report as to these under its care and 
the dispensing of public outdoor relief during the year ending the preceeding thirty- 
first day of December. 

5. Said board of trustees shall have power to dispense outdoor relief to the de- 
pendent members of a family of a consumptive or consumptives when, after investi- 
gation into the circumstances of all such persons it is established that the dependent 
members of the family of said consumptive or consumptives are not able to maintain 
themselves, provided, however, that the dependent members of the family of such con- 
sumptive or consumptives move into sections of the City where the density of popula- 
tion is not greater than three hundred to the acre in the ward, and provided, also, that 
the dependent members of the family of such consumptive or consumptives are living 
under such surroundings as are approved by the said board of trustees or their repre- 
sentatives. The said board of trustees shall also have power to dispense outdoor relief 
to indigent widows with children if such widows are physically, mentally and morally 
competent to care for their children, provided, however, that they care for their chil- 
dren themselves and that they live in a ward in which the density of population is less 
than three hundred to the acre and under such surroundings as are approved by the said 
board of trustees or their representatives. 

6. The board of estimate and apportionment and the board of aldermen shall 
in each year appropriate such sum as in their judgment may be necessary for public 
outdoor relief. It shall be the duty of the board of trustees of public outdoor relief 
to send to the board of estimate and apportionment, or on or before the first day 
■of September in each year, an estimate in writing of the sum needed for the ensuing 
year in the same manner and general form as the heads of departments and other 
boards of The City of New York are required to furnish. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter in relation to the bureaus of the 
department of finance. 

The people of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. There shall be in the department of finance of The City of New 
York in addition to the six bureaus now provided for by section 151 of this act, a 
seventh bureau, to be knovvn as the bureau for the supervision of charitable institu- 
tions, exempt from taxation under paragraph 7, of section 4, of the General Tax Law 
of the State. 

The chief officer of the bureau shall be called the Examiner of Charitable Institu- 
tions Exempt from Taxation, and shall be appointed by the Comptroller. He shall 
investigate the work done by these institutions, methods of accounting, and report to 
the Comptroller from time to time as to whether the institutions are doing work which 
entitles them to exemption from taxation, and shall make recommendations to the 
institutions regarding the conduct of their work. The Comptroller shall be authorized 



38 

to appoint for the work of this department as many expert accountants, examiners of 
accounts and other employees as he shall deem necessary. 
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 1912. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter by increasing the powers of the 
Board of Health. 

The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Title one of chapter nineteen of the Greater New York Charter, as re- 
enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and 
one, is hereby amended by adding a new section, to be known as section eleven hun- 
dred and eighty-five to read as follows : 

Section 1185a — Inspection of Occupancy Btireau. The Board of Health of The 
City of New York shall organize a bureau, to be known as the Bureau of Inspection of 
Occupancy. This bureau shall be charged with the duty of ascertaining the cubical 
contents of all apartments in two family houses in The City of New York and shall 
post in a conspicuous place in such apartments a notice stating the number of occu- 
pants permitted by law to occupy such apartments. Said bureau shall also have 
charge of inspecting such apartments to ascertain that there is not a larger number 
of persons occupying them than is permitted by law. and of enforcing its provisions. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter relative to the powers of the 
Board of Aldermen. 
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section four himdred and seven of the Greater New York Charter, as 
re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and 
one, is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 407. The board of aldermen is authorized by ordinance to regulate and 
restrict the height of buildings to be hereafter erected in the city. When any ordi- 
nance on that subject is introduced, the board of aldermen shall provide for public 
hearings in reference thereto, before it or before appropriate committees; and no ordi- 
nance restricting the height of buildings shall be passed unless it is approved before- 
hand by the board of estimate and apportionment by a resolution or vote of a majority 
of the members of such board entered on its minutes or record, and unless it shall be 
passed by a majority of all the members elected to the board of aldermen, the vote 
being taken by ayes and noes. The said board subject to the approval of the board of 
estimate and apportionment as herein before provided shall have power to divide the 
city into zones or districts and to fix the height of buildings the number of stories and 
the precentage of the lot area that may be occupied in such zones or districts. The 
heights of buildings, the number of stories and the percentage of lot area which may 
be occupied may be different in the different zones or districts which may be estab- 
lished. Such zones or districts and the height of buildings, number of stories and 
percentage of lot area which may be occupied in such zones or districts when fixed 
by said board shall remain unchanged for a period of twenty years, but in no zone 
or district shall the height of buildings, the number of stories or the percentage of 
the lot area that may be occupied be greater than is prescribed by law at the time 
the said board shall divide the city into such zones or districts. 

The building code shall be in force in the City of New York on the first day of 
January, 1902,. and all then existing provisions of law fixing the penalties for viola- 
tion of said code, and all then existing laws affecting or relating to the construction, 
alteration or removal of buildings or other structures within the Citv of New York 
are hereby declared to be binding and in force in the City of New York, and_ shall con- 
tinue to be so binding and in force except as the same may from time to time be re- 
vised, altered, amended or repealed as herein provided. No right or rernedy of any 
character shall be lost or impaired or affected by reason of this chapter. This chapter 
shall not affect or impair any act done or right accruing, accrued or acquired or pen- 
alty, forfeiture or punishment incurred prior to the time when this act takes effect or 
by virtue of any law repealed or modified by this chapter, but the same may be as- 
serted, enforced, prosecuted, or inflicted as fully and to the same extent as if this act 
had not been passed, or said law had not been repealed or modified. The board of 
aldermen shall have power from time to time to amend said building code and said 
laws to provide therein for all matters concerning, affecting or relating to the con- 
struction, alteration or removal of buildings or structures erected or to be erected in the 
City of New York, and for the purpose of preparing or amending said code, to appoint 
and employ a commission of experts. The said building code, which is in force May 



39 

first, 1904, shall constitute a chapter of the code of ordinances of The City of New 
York. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter in relation to organization, ad- 
ministration, authorities, duties and powers of the Department of Health. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section eleven hundred and sixty-seven of the Greater New York 
Charter, as re-enacted by Chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of 1901, is 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 1167. The head of the department of health shall be called the board of 
health. Said board shall consist of one commissioner to be called the commissioner 
of health, the police commissioner, [and] the health officer of the port [ . ], and the 
Commissioner of the Tenement House Department who shall have a vote in all mat- 
ters pertaining to the Tenement House Department. The commissioner of health shall 
be appointed by the mayor, shall hold office as provided in chapter four of this act, 
and shall be the president of the board of health. The commissioner of health shall 
be the executive officer of the health department. [The terms of office of the three 
officers called commissioners of health, except the president of the board of health, 
appointed pursuant to the provisions of the Greater New York Charter, shall cease 
and determine on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and two, and the said 
president shall thereupon become commissioner of health.] 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter by providing for the prevention 
of room overcrowding in two-family houses. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Title six of chapter nineteen of the Greater New York Charter, as re- 
enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and 
one, is hereby amended by adding a new section to be known as section twelve hundred 
and ninety-nine-b and to read as follows: 

Section 1299b. Overcrowding— No apartment in any two-family house shall be 
so overcrowded that there shall be afforded less than six hundred cubic feet of air to 
each adult and three hundred cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of age 
occupying such apartment, but no portion of any closet, bathroom or toilet shall be 
included in computing the cubic air space of any apartment. 

2. Any persons violating or aiding or abetting in violating this provision shall be 
guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction in a magistrate's court, be punished 
by a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to scuttles, bulkheads, 
ladders and stairs. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 32 of chapter 99 of the laws of 1909, entitled "An Act in re- 
lation to tenement houses, constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws," 
is hereby amended so as to read as follows : 

Section 32. Scuttles, bulkheads, ladders and stairs. — Every tenement house shall 
have in the roof a bulkhead or a scuttle which, in tenement houses erected prior to 
April tenth, nineteen hundred and one, shall be not less than twenty-one inches by 
twenty-eight inches, and in tenement houses erected after that date, not less in size than 
two feet by thirty inches. All scuttles shall be covered on the outside with metal and 
shall be provided with stairs or stationary ladders leading thereto and easily accessible 
to all tenants of the building and kept free from incumbrance, and all scuttle? and 
ladders shall be kept so as to be ready for use at all times. No scuttle shall be located 
in a room, but all scuttles shall be located in the ceiling of the public hall on the top 
floor, and access through the scuttle to the roof shall be direct and uninterrupted. If 
located in a closet, said closet shall open from the public hall and shall not be used as 
a water-closet compartment or bathroom, and the door to such closet shall be perma- 
nently removed, or shall be fastened only by movable bolts or hooks without key- 
locks. When deemed necessary by the department charged with the enforcement of 
this chapter, scuttles shall be hinged so as to readily open. Every bulkhead in a tene- 
ment house shall have stairs with a guide or hand-rail leading to the roof, and such 
stairs shall be kept free from incumbrance at all times. No scuttle and no bulkhead 
door shall at any time be locked with a key, but either may be fastened on the inside 



40> 

by movable bolts or hooks. All key-locks on scuttles and on bulkhead doors shall be 
removed. No stairs leading to the roof in any tenement house shall be removed and 
replaced with a ladder. Every bulkhead hereafter constructed in a now-existing tene- 
ment house shall be constructed as provided in section seventeen of this chapter, ex- 
cept that where the stairs and stair halls in such tenement house are not now of fire- 
proof material such bulkhead may be of wood covered with metal. Any tenement 
house hereafter increased in height by placing thereon an additional story or stories 
or a part of a story, shall be provided with a bulkhead in the roof [ . ], but in three- 
family three-story houses a scuttle must be provided twenty-four by thirty-six inches 
with scuttle cover provided with- a counter-balance weight. 
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to overcrowding. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section III of chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An Act in rela- 
tion to tenement houses, constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws," is 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section IIL Overcrowding. No [room] apartment in any tenement house shall be 
so overcrowded that there shall be afforded less than [four] six hundred cubic feet of 
air to each adult; and [two] three hundred cubic feet of air to each child under twelve 
years of age occupying such [room.] apartment, but no portion of any closet, bath- 
room or toilet shall be included in computing the cubic air space of any aparti)ient.\ 
The lessee of ohv apartment violating or aiding or abetting in violating this provision 
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction in a magistrate's court be 
punished by a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars. The department charg-ed with 
the enforcement of this law shall cause the cubical contents of all apartments in tene- 
ment houses, exclusive of any portion of any closet, bathroom or toilet to be ascer- 
tained, and shall post in every such apartment a placard printed in such language or lan- 
guages as said department shall deem necessary, stating the number of adults or minors 
or adults and minors that may legally occupy such apartment. 

Section 2. This act shall take eff'ect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Public Halls. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 
as follows : 

Section 1. Section 66 of chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An Act in rela- 
tion to tenement houses, constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws," is 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 66. Public Halls — In every tenement house hereafter erected, which is 
occupied or arranged to be occupied bv more than two families on one floor or which 
exceeds four stories and cellar in height, every public hall shall have at least one win- 
dow opening directly upon the street or upon a yard or court. Either such window 
shall be at the end of said hall, with the plans of the window at right angle to the axis 
of said hall or there shall be at least one window opening directly upon the street or 
upon a yard or court in every twenty feet in length or fraction thereof of said hall ; 
but this provision for one window in every twenty feet of hallway shall not apply to 
that portion of the entrance hall between the entrance and the first flight of stairs, 
provided that the entrance door contains not less than five square feet of glazed sur- 
face. In every public hall in such tenement house recesses or returns the length of 
which does not exceed twice their width will be permitted without an additional win- 
dow. But wherever the length of such recess or return exceeds twice its width the 
above provisions in reference to one window in every twenty feet of hallway shall be 
applied. Any part of a hall which is shut off from any other part of said hall by a 
door or doors shall be deemed a separate hall within the meaning of this section. In 
every tenement house hereafter erected where the public hall is not provided with a 
window opening directly to the outer air as above provided there shall be a stair well 
not less than twelve inches wide extending from the entrance floor to the roof, and 
all doors leading from such public halls shall be provided with translucent glass panels 
of an area of not less than five square feet for each door, and also with fixed tran- 
soms of translucent glass over each door [.], except that in buildings not exceeding 
three stories in height zvith not more than two families on a floor the stair-zvell shall 
not be less than ten inches wide extending from the entrance floor to the roof. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediatelv. 



41 



AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Size of Rooms. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 

as follows: . ^ , t ' r -.r.nr^ -1 , ua 

Section 1. Section 64 of Chapter nmety-nine of the Laws of 1909 entitled An 
act in relation to tenement houses, constituting chapter 61 of the Consolidated Laws" 
is hereby amended so as to read as follows: ' 

Section 64. Rooms, size of — In every tenement house hereafter erected all rooms, 
except water-closet compartments and bathrooms, shall be of the following mmimum 
sizes; in each compartment there shall be at least one room containing, not less thjan 
[one 'hundred and twenty] one hundred and fifty square feet of floor area and each 
other room shall contain at least [seventy] ninety square feet of floor area. Each 
room shall be in every part not less than nine feet high from the finished floor to the 
finished ceiling, provided that an attic room need be nine feet high in but one-half its 



area 



Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Three-story Tenements. 
The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 

as follows : ^^ .,,,<,• i 

Section 1. Section 16 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled _ An act in rela- 
tion to tenement houses, constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated _La^ys" is 
hereby amended by adding thereto a new sub-division to be known as sub-division 5, 
and to read as follows : r ■ ■ j £ 

5. In three-story tenement houses zvherc the bulkhead to roof is omitted, fire- 
escapes, balconies and connecting ladders shall be placed on rear of said building in 
■accordance with such regulations as may be adopted by said Tenement House Depart- 
ment. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amicnd the Tenement House Law in relation to Room Overcrowding. 
The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 

as follows : .,,<,*•!• 

Section 1. Chapter ninety-nine of the Laws of 1909 entitled An Act^in relation 
to tenement houses, constituting Chapter 61 of the Consolidated Laws," is hereby 
amended by adding thereto a new section to be known as section one hundred and 
twelve, and to read as follows : ,111 

Section 112. Lodgers— No lessee of any apartment m any tenement house shall 
take a lodger without first notifying the owner or responsible agent of the tenement 
house in writing and such owner or responsible agent shall, upon receiving any such' 
notice, immediately report the same to the tenement house department. Every such 
lessee shall before taking any lodger secure a license permitting such taking of lodger, 
from the tenement house department. 

2. No such license shall be granted by the tenement house department_ until it 
shall have made investigation of the apartment in which the apphcant for taking such 
lodger lives, and of the occupancy thereof, and is satisfied that all the requirements of 
the tenement house law and all other laws applying thereto have been complied with. 

3. For the purposes of this section a lodger shall be construed to mean any per- 
son who is harbored, received or lodged for hire. 

4. Any person violating or aiding or abetting m violating either of these pro- 
visions shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction in a magistrate s 
court be punished by a fine not exceeding twenty-five dollars. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 
AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Stairs and Halls. 

The People of the State of New Y'ork represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 

°Section 1. Section 18 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909, entitled "An act in rela- 
tion to tenement houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws is 
hereby amended so as to read as follows : , , r . 

Section 18. Stairs and Public Halls— Every tenement house hereafter erected 
shall have at least one flight of stairs extending from the entrance floor to_ the roof, 
and the stairs and public halls therein shall each be at least three feet wide in the 
clear [.], excepting in tenements not exceeding three stories and cellar m height and 
arranged to be occupied by not more than one family on each floor or more than three 
families in all. in lieu of stairs there may be an iron stair ladder to the roof placed at 
an angle of 60 degrees and constructed as required by section 32 of the Tenement 
House Lazv, and the width of the stairs may be tivo feet and nine inches. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



42 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Rooms, Lighting and 

Ventilation. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do enact 
as follows : 

Section 1. Section 73, Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909, entitled "An act m relation 
to Tenement Houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws," is 
hereby amended by the addition of a sub-division to follow sub-division 4 to be known 
as sub-division 5, and to read as follows ; 

5. // in the judgment of the department charged with the enforcement of this 
chapter the minimum requirement of window space and other means of ventilation re- 
quired by this section are not sufficient to make the room sanitary and habitable, said 
department shall be empozvered upon a certificate being filed verified by two medical 
inspectors certifying to the above facts to vacate said apartment or part thereof in the 
manner prescribed in section one hundred and twenty-six of this law. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to the Height of Tenements. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An act in relation to tene- 
ment houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws" is hereby 
amended by the addition thereto of a new section to be known as Section 51a, as 
follows : 

Section 51a — No tenement house hereafter erected in The City of New York 
except in the Borough of Manhattan, south of the south side of \^lst street shall ex- 
ceed four stories in height, except that for every fifteen percentum of the Jot area left 
unoccupied less than the maximum percentage of occupancy legally permissible at the 
time this act takes effect, an additional story shall be permitted, and a tenement house 
may be five stories high without being of fireproof construction if_ it occupy fifteen 
percentum less of the lot area than is legally permissible at the time this act takes 
effect. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Light and Vent Shafts in 

Existing Buildings. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 75 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An act in re- 
lation to tenement houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws" is 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 75. Light and Vent Shafts in existing buildings — Any shaft used or in- 
tended to be used to light or ventilate rooms used or intended to be used for living 
purposes, and which may be hereafter placed in a tenement house, erected prior to April 
tenth, nineteen hundred and one, shall not be less in area than twenty-five square feet 
nor less than four feet in width in any part, and such shaft shall under no circum- 
stances be roofed or covered over at the top with a roof or skylight; every such shaft 
shall be provided at the bottom with a horizontal intake or duct, of a size not less 
than four square feet, and communicating directly with the street or yard, and such 
duct shall be so arranged as to be easily cleaned out. 

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit windows being placed in 
said vent shaft where same are used to afford additional light to halls, provided that 
such windows are stationary and frames shall be fireproof and glased with wire glass. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Fireproof Tenements. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 15 of Chapter 99 of the_ Laws of 1909 entitled "An Act in re- 
lation to tenement houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws," is 
h'Teby amended to read as follows : 

Section 15. Fireproof Tenements, where required. — Every tenement house here- 
after erected exceeding [six] four stories or parts of stories or fifty feet in height 
above the curb level, shall be a fireproof tenement house, nor shall any tenement house 
be altered so as to exceed such height without being made a fireproof tenement house. 
A cellar the ceiling of which does not extend more than two feet above the curb level 
is not a story within the meaning of this section. Where, however, a tenement house 
hereafter erected is located on a street of which the grade is more than four feet in one 



43 

hundred feet, a cellar or basement, the ceiling of which does not extend more than six 
inches above the highest point of the curb level, is not to be deemed a story within 
th." meaning of this section, provided, however, that no part of such cellar or base- 
ment is occupied or arranged to be occupied for living purposes except by the janitor 
of such building and his familly, and provided also that such cellar or basement is the 
lowest story of such building. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law relating to Inner Courts. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 58 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909, entitled "An act in 
relation to tenement houses, constituting chapter 61 of the Consolidated Laws," is 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 58. Inner Courts 1. Where one side of an inner court is situated on the 
lot line, the width of the said court measured from the lot line to the opposite wall 
of the building, for tenement houses sixty feet in height shall not be less than twelve 
feet in any part, and its other horizontal dimension shall not be less than twenty-four 
feet in any part; and for every twelve feet of increase or fraction thereof in the 
height of the said building, each width shall be increased six inches throughout the 
entire height of said court, and the other horizontal dimension shall be increased one 
foot throughout the entire height of said court; and for every twelve feet of decrease 
in the height of the said building below sixty feet, such width may be decreased six 
inches, and the other horizontal dimension may be decreased one foot. Except that in 
tenement houses hereafter erected not exceeding four stories and cellar in height and 
which also are not occupied or arranged to be occupied by more than [eight] nine 
families in all, or by more than two families on any floor, and in which also each 
apartment extends through from the street to the yard, and which also do not occupy 
more than seventy-two per centum of the lot, in the case of an interior lot. the width 
of an inner court situated on the lot line to the opposite wall of the building shall 
not be less than eight feet in any part, and its other horizonal dimension shall not be 
less than fourteen feet in any part. Except also that in such tenement houses which 
do not exceed three stories and cellar in height, and which also are not occupied by 
more than six families in all, or by more than two families on any floor, a portion of 
such inner court may be occupied by a bathroom extension, provided that such ex- 
tension has no window facing an opposite building, and that it does not occupy a por- 
tion of such court greater than four and one-half feet in width, or seven feet in 
length, and that between such extension and the lot line the court is never less than 
three and one-half feet in width. In such last-named tenement houses which do not 
occupy more than sixty-five per centum of the lot, in the case of an interior lot, where 
an inner court for its entire length immediately adjoins an existing inner court of 
equal_ or greater size in an adjoining building or adjoins such a court in an adjoining 
building actually in course of construction at the same time, the width of such inner 
court measured from the lot line to the opposite wall of the building shall be not less 
than four feet in any part, and not less than eight feet from wall to wall, and its 
other horizontal dimension shall be not less than twelve and one-half feet. 

2. _ Where an inner court is not situated upon the lot line, but is inclosed on all 
four sides, the least horizontal dimension of the said court for tenement houses sixty 
feet In height shall not be less than twenty-four feet and for every twelve feet of in- 
crease or fraction thereof in the height of the said building, the said court shall be in- 
creased one foot in each horizontal dimension, throughout the entire height of said 
court ; and for every twelve feet of decrease in the heights of the said building below 
sixty feet, the horizontal dirnensions of the said court may be decreased on foot in 
each direction. Except that in tenement houses hereafter erected not exceeding four 
stories and cellar in height and which are not occupied or arranged to be occu- 
pied by more than [eight] nine families in all, or by more than two families on any 
floor, and in which also each apartment extends through from the street to the yard, 
and which also do not occupy more than seventy-two per centum of the lot in the 
case of an interior lot, the least horizontal dimension of an inner court not situated 
on the lot line, but inclosed on all four sides, shall not be less than fourteen feet. Ex- 
cept also that in such tenement houses which do not exceed three stories and cellar in 
height and which also are not occupied, or arranged to be occupied, by more than six 
families in all, or by more than two families on any floor, and which do not occupy 
more than sixty-five per centum of the lot, in the case of an interior lot, the width of 
such inner court shall not be less than eight feet in any part, and its other horizontal 
dimension shall not be less_ than twelve and one-half feet. In inner courts which are 
not less than ten feet wide in any part, offsets and recesses will be permitted. 



44 

but where the depth of such offset or recess is less than the minimum width pre- 
scribed, then the width of said offset or recess may be equal to but not less than its 
idepth, provided that such width is never less than four feet in the clear. And no 
window except windows of watercloset compartments, bathrooms or halls shall open 
upon any offset or recess less than six feet in width. 

3. Every inner court shall be provided with one or more horizontal intakes at the 
bottom. Such intakes shall always communicate directly with the street or yard, and 
shall Consist of a passageway not less than three feet wide and seven feet high, which 
shall be left open, or if not open there shall always be provided in said passageway 
open grilles or transoms of a size not less than five square feet each, and such open 
grilles or transoms shall never be covered over by glass or in any other way. There 
shall be at least two such grilles or transoms in each such passageway, one at the 
inner court and the other at the street or yard, as the case may be. 

Section 2. This act shall take eft'ect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law in relation to Fireproof Tenements. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 15 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An act in 
relation to tenement houses constituting chapter sixty-two of the Consolidated Laws," 
is hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 15. Fireproof Tenements, when required — Every tenement house here- 
after erected exceeding [six] four stories or parts of stories or fifty feet in height 
above the curb level, shall be a fireproof tenement house, nor shall any tenement house 
be altered so as to exceed such height without being made a fireproof tenement 
house. A cellar the ceiling of which does not extend more than two feet above the 
curb level is not a story within the meaning of this section. Where, however, a tene- 
ment house hereafter erected is located on a street of which the grade is more than 
four feet to one hundred feet, a cellar or basement, the ceiling of which does not ex- ■ 
tend more than six inches above the- highest point of the curb level, is not to be 
deemed a story within the meaning of this section, provided, however, that no part of 
such cellar or basement is occupied or arranged to be occupied for living purposes 
except by the janitor of such building and his family, and provided also that such 
cellar or basement is the lowest story bf such building. 

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter in relation to Inspection of Tene- 
ment Houses. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
«nact as follows : 

Section \. Section thirteen hundred and forty-one of the Greater New York 
Charter, as re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the Law of 1901, 
as amended by chapter 439 of the Laws of 1903, is hereby amended to read as fol- 
lows : 

Section 1341a. Infected and Uninhabitable Houses to be Vacated by Depart- 
ment — [Whenever it shall be certified by an inspector or officer of the department 
that a tenement house, or any part thereof, is infected with contagious disease, or 
that it is unfit for human habitation or dangerous to life or health by reason of want 
of repair, or of defects in the drainage, plumbing, ventilation, or the construction of 
. the same or by reason of the existence on the premises of a nuisance likely to cause 
sickness among the occupants of said house, the department mav issue an order 
requiring all persons therein to vacate such house, or part thereof, within not less 
than twenty-four hours, nor more than ten days for the reasons to be mentioned in 
said order.] The tenement house department of The City of Neiv York shall at such 
times and in such manner as may to it seem best cause an inspection and examination 
to be made of all tenement houses, in The City of New York, and zvherever it shall 
be found that any such tenement house or part thereof is infected zvith contagious 
disease or that it is unfit for human habitation or occitpancy or dangerous to life or 
health by reason of want of repair or of defects in the drainage, plumbing, lighting, 
'Ventilation, or the construction of the same, or by reason of the existence on the prem- 
ises of a nuisance likely to cause sickness aniovig the occupants of said house thd 
department shall issue an order requiring all persons therein to vacate such house^. 
or part thereof, within not less than twenty-four hotirs nor more than ten days for 
the reasons to 'be mentioned in said order. This order may be served in the manner 
prescribed in the tenement house act. 

In case such order is not complied with within the time specified the department 
may cause said tenement house, or part thereof, to be vacated. The department 



45 

whenever it is satisfied that the danger from said house, or part thereof, has ceased 
to exist, or that it is fit for human habitation may revoke said order, or may extend 
the time within which to comply with the same. 

2. A staff of medical inspectors who are qualified physicians shall be assigned 
by the department of healtJi to the tenement house department, which staff shall 
examine and report upon all cases of vacation of such insanitary tenements or part 
thereof in which there may be any contagious disease or which is unfit for human 
habitation, except in those vacating cases provided for by law. 

3. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. 
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to provide "for the creation of an Industrial Commission in Cities of Over 
One Million Inhabitants. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. The Mayor of any city with a population of over one million inhabi- 
tants, shall appoint a commission to be known as the industrial commission of said 
city. The said commission shall consist of three residents of the City. Two of 
the commissioners shall serve for a term of four years, and the third com- 
missioner, who shall be the chairman of the commission, shall serve for the term 
of five years. 

Section 2. For the purpose of making the appointments aforesaid, the said mayor 
shall call upon the presidents or other executive heads of the following interests, rep- 
resenting the employers and the employees : The central bodies of the labor organiza- 
tions of the city; and associations representing the employers of the city, each of 
whom shall present a list of not less than five names for the consideration of the 
mayor. Notice in writing of the dates on which the appointments to said commission 
are proposed to be made shall be given by the mayor to each of the presidents or 
other executive heads of said organizations at least ten days prior thereto, and such 
list of names shall be so presented within three days after the receipt of such notice. 
Appointment of two members of said commission, may, in the discretion of the 
mayor, be made from such list or lists, and the third commissioner shall not belong 
to either an association of employers or employees ; but, not more than two of said 
commissioners shall belong to the political party which at the preceding general 
election cast the greatest number of votes for governor of the state, nor to the 
political party which shall have cast the next greatest number of votes for governor 
of the state. 

Section 3. The duties of said commission shall be (a) to mvestigate labor condi- 
tions in the city, and wages paid to both skilled and unskilled laborers of every class, 
whether represented by an association or organization of labor or not; and the said 
commission shall have full power to make such examinations and investigations. 
Upon the written petition of any organization of labor, or association of emploj^ers, 
or of a class representing trades not connected or associated with any labor organiza- 
tion, it shall be the duty of the said commission to investigate all matters set forth 
in the said petition, either by conferences with all the parties directly concerned or by 
giving -full publicity to the facts ascertained, or both, in the discretion of the com- 
mission ; (b) to investigate all differences and disputes that may arise when strikes 
and lockouts are threatened or after they occur, and to use all proper efforts to pre- 
vent or to terminate such strikes or lockouts, and it shall give the widest publicity to 
the result of its conferences and examinations, upon the request of either party to 
the dispute or of any .other party who shall be directly interested or affected by the 
proceeding. 

Section 4. The said commission shall have power to administer oaths, and to 
issue subpoenas for the production of books and papers, and for the attendance of 
witnesses to the same extent as the courts of record or the judges thereof in this 
state possess. The commission may make and enforce rules for its government and 
the transaction of its business, and shall hear and examine such witnesses as may be 
brought before them, and take such other proof as may be offered or found necessary. 
After the_ matter has been fully heard, the said commission, or a majority thereof, 
shall within ten days, and as speedily as possible, if the situation is critical or urgent, 
render a decision in w^riting signed by it, giving such details that will clearly show 
the nature of the decision and the points disposed of. Examinations or investigations 
ordered by the commission may be held and taken before any one of its members, if 
so directed, but the proceedings or decision of any one member of the commission 
shall not be deemed conclusive until approved by the commission or a majority 
thereof. Each commissioner shall have power to administer oaths, and all subpoenas 
shall be signed by the secretary of the commission, and may be served by any person 



46 

of full age, authorized by the commission to serve the same. Said commission shall 
make an annual report to the mayor, which shall include such facts and statements 
that will disclose the actual work of the commission, with such recommendations that 
may seem to it conducive to the harmonizing of the relations between employers and 
employees. 

Section 5. Each member of the commission shall receive a salary of 

dollars per year, and it shall have the power to rent offices, employ a secretary and 
such other assistants as it shall deem necessary for the proper conduct of its work, and 
the appropriation therefor shall be made by those charged by law with the duty of 
making appropriations for the support of the city government. 

Section 6. Nothing in this act contained shall in any way be construed to modify, 
change or repeal the powers and jurisdiction of the bureau of mediation and arbi- 
tration in the state department of labor, as provided for by article ten of the general 
labor law. 

Section 7. This act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Labor Law in relation to a Deputy Commissioner for New York 
City. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1— Section 41 of chapter 26 of the Laws of 1909, entitled "An Act relating 
to labor, constituting chapter 31 of the Consolidated Laws," is hereby amended to read 
as follows : 

Section 4L Deputy Commissioners — The commissioner of labor shall forthwith 
upon entering upon the duties of his oft'ice, appoint, and may at pleasure remove, two 
deputy commissioners of labor, who shall receive such annual salaries, not to exceed 
three thousand dollars each, as ma}r be appropriated therefore. The powers herein- 
after conferred upon the first and second deputy commissioners shall not include the 
appointment of officers, clerks or other employees in any of the bureaus of the depart- 
ment of labor. He shall also appoint a deputy commissioner, who shall be permanently 
stationed in New York City, and who shall he paid a salary not to exceed 

dollars, whose duty it shall he to supervise the administration of the gen- 
eral labor law in New York City, subject to the authority and direction of the commis- 
sioner of labor. 

Section 2. This Act shall take effect Jul}^ 1, 1911. 

AN ACT to amend the Labor Law in relation to the size of rooms. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section L Section 85 of chapter 26 of the Laws of 1909, entitled "An Act relating 
to labor, constituting chapter 31 of the Consolidated Laws," is hereby amended to read 
as follows : 

Section 85. Size of Rooms — No more employees shall be required or permitted 
to work in a room in a factory between the hours of six o'clock in the morning and 
six o'clock in the evening, than will allow to each of such employees not less than [two 
hundred and fifty] five hundred cubic feet of air space; and, unless by a written permit 
of the commissioner of labor, not les? than [four hundred] six hundred cubic feet for 
each employee, so employed between the hours of six o'clock in the evening and six 
o'clock in the morning, provided such room is lighted by electricity at all times during 
such hours, while persons are employed therein. 

Section 2. This Act shall take effect July 1, 1911. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter by providing for a difference in the 
rate of taxation on the value of land wholly unimproved, and the rate on the 
difference between the value of the land with its improvements and the value of 
the land wholly unimproved. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section two hundred and forty-nine of the Greater New York Charter, 
as re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the Laws of 1901, is hereby 
amended to read as follows : 

Section 249. The aggregate amount estimated by the Board of Aldermen and the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment in the annual Budget, shall be certified by the 
Comptroller to the Board of Aldermen ; and it shall be the duty of the said Board of 
Aldermen, and they are hereby empowered and directed annually to cause to be raised, 
according to law, and collected by tax upon the estates, real and personal, subject to 
taxation within The City of New York, the amount so certified as aforesaid. The said 
Board of Aldermen shall, for the year ...., in fixing the rate of taxation on the real 



47 

estate of The City of New York, so apportion the rate that the rate on personal prop- 
erty and on the difference between tlie value of real estate, with its improvements, and 
the value of real estate wholly unimproved, assessed as provided for in section eight 
hundred and eighty-nine of the Greater New York Charter, as amended by section one 
of chapter four hundred and fifty-four of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, shall 
be ninety per cent, of the rate on the value of real estate wholly unimproved. Every 
year subsequent to ...., the rate on personal property and the difference between the 
value of real estate with its improvements, and the value of real estate wholly unim- 
proved, shall be still further reduced 10 per cent, of the rate on the value of real estate 
ivholly unimproved, until the rate on personal property and on the difference between 
the value of real estate ivith its improvements, and the value of real estate wholly unim- 
proved, shall be fifty percentuni of tlie rate on the value of real estate wholly unim- 
proved; and thereafter tlie Board of Aldermen shall so apportion the rate of taxation 
that the rate on personal property and on the difference between the value of real estate 
with its improvements and the value of real estate ivholly unimproved, shall be fifty per- 
centum of the rate on the value of real estate wholly unimproved. 
Section 2. This Act shall take effect immediately. 

AN ACT to amend the Greater New York Charter by providing a separate state- 
ment of the difference in the value of land with its improvements and the value of 
land wholly unimproved in assessments of real estate. 

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, d^ 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Sections 889 and 892 of the Greater New York Charter as enacted by 
chapter 466 of the Laws of 1901, are hereby amended to read as follows : 

Sec. 889. It shall be the duty of the Deputy Tax Commissioners, under the direc- 
tion of the Board of Taxes and Assessments, to assess all the taxable property in the 
several districts that may be assigned to them for that purpose by said Board, and they 
shall furnish to said Board, under oath, a detailed statement of all such property, show- 
ing that said Deputies have personally examined each and every house, building, lot, 
pier or other assessable property, giving the street, lot, ward, town and map number of 
such real estate embraced within the said districts, together with the name of the owner 
or occupant, if known ; also the sum for which, in their judgment, each separately as- 
sessed parcel of real estate under ordinary circumstances would sell if it were wholly 
unimproved ; and separately stated the sum for which, under ordinary circumstances, 
the same parcel of real estate would sell, with the improvements, if any, thereon ; and 
separately stating the sum, shovuing the difference between tlie sum for which, in their 
judgment, each separately assessed parcel of real estate, under ordinary circumstances, 
would sell if it were wholly unimproved, and the sum for which, under ordinary cir- 
cumstances, the same parcel of real estate would sell ivith improvements, if any, there- 
on; with such other information, in detail, relative to personal property or otherwise, 
as the said Board may from time to time require. Such deputies shall commence to 
assess real and personal real estate on the first Tuesday of September in each and 
every year. 

Sec. 892. There shall be kept in the several offices established by the Department 
of Taxes and Assessments, books to be called "The Annual Record of the Assessed 

Valuation of Real and Personal Estate of the Borough of ," in which 

shall be entered in detail the assessed valuation of such property within the limits of 
the several Boroughs within The City of New York, as established by this Act. In 
such books the assessed value of real estate shall be set down in [two] three columns; 
in the first column shall be given opposite each separately assessed parcel of real estate 
the sum for which such parcel, under ordinary circumstances, would sell if wholly un- 
miproved ; in the second column shall be set down the sum for which the said parcel, 
under ordinary circumstances, would sell with the improvements, if any, thereon; and 
in tli^ third column the diff'erence between the sum for which such parcel, under ordi- 
nary circumstances, would sell if wholly unimproved, and the sum for which the said 
parcel, under ordinary circumstances, would sell with the improvements, if any, there- 
on. The said books shall be open for public inspection, examination and correction 
from the second Monday in January until the 1st day of April in each year; but on the 
said last mentioned day the same shall be closed to enable the Board of Taxes and 
Assessments to prepare assessment rolls of the several boroughs for delivery to the 
Board of Aldermen. The said Board, previous to and during the time the said books 
are open as aforesaid, for inspection, shall advertise the fact in the City Record and 
in such other newspaper or newspapers published in the several Boroughs created by 
this Act as may be authorized by the Board of City Record. 

Section 2. This Act shall take effect immediately. 



48 

AN ACT to amend the Tenement House Law regarding Outer Courts. 

The People of the State of New York represented in Senate and Assembly dor 
enact as follows : 

Section 1. Section 57 of Chapter 99 of the Laws of 1909 entitled "An Act in rela- 
tion to tenement houses constituting chapter sixty-one of the Consolidated Laws" is. 
hereby amended to read as follows : 

Section 57. 1 — Where one side of an outer court is situated on the lot line, the 
width of the said court, measured from the lot line to the opposite wall of the build- 
ing, for tenement houses sixty feet in height shall not be less than six feet in any part ; 
and for every twelve feet of increase or fraction thereof in height of the said building,, 
such width shall be increased six inches throughout the entire height of said court; 
and for every twelve feet of decrease in the height of the said building below sixty 
feet, such width may be decreased six inches. Whenever an outer court exceeds sixty- 
five feet in length and does not extend from the street to the yard, the entire court 
shall be increased in width one foot for every additional thirty feet or fraction thereof 
in excess of sixty-five feet. Except that in tenement houses hereafter erected not ex- 
ceeding four stories and cellar in height and which also are not occupied or arranged 
to be occupied by more than [eight] nine families in all, or by more than two families 
on any floor, and in which also each apartments extends through from the street tO' 
the yard, the width of an outer court situated on the lot line shall not be less than 
four feet in any part provided that the length of such outer court does not exceed 
thirty-six feet. 

2. Where an outer court is situated between wings or part of the same building, 
or between different buildings on the same lot, the width of the said court, measured 
from wall to wall, for tenement houses sixty feet in height shall not be less than twelve 
feet in any part; and for every twelve feet of increase or fraction thereof in the 
height of the said building, such width shall be increased one foot throughout the 
entire height of said court; and for every twelve feet of decrease in the height of the 
said buildings below sixty feet, such width of the said court rfiay be decreased one foot. 
Wherever an outer court exceeds sixty-five feet in length, the entire court shall be 
increased in width two feet for every additional thirty feet or fraction thereof in 
excess of sixty-five feet. Except that in tenement houses hereafter erected not ex- 
ceeding four stories and cellar in height and which also are not occupied or arranged to- 
be occupied by more than [eight] nine famiUes in all, or by more than two families on 
any floor, and in which also each apartment extends through from the street to the 
yard, the width of an outer court situated between wings or parts of the same building, 
or between different buildings on the same lot, measured from wall to wall, shall be 
not less than eight feet in any part provided that the length of said outer court does 
not exceed thirty-six feet. 

3. Wherever an outer court changes its initial horizontal direction, or wherever 
any part of such court extends in a direction so as not to receive direct light from the 
street or yard, the length of such portion of said court shall never exceed the width 
of said portion; such length to be measured from the point at which the change of 
direction commences. Wherever an outer court is less in depth than the minimum 
width prescribed by this article, then its width may be equal to, but not less_ than its 
depth, provided that such width is never less than four feet in the clear. This excep- 
tion shall also apply to each offset or recess in outer courts. And no window except 
windows of water-closet compartments, bathrooms or halls shall open upon any offset: 
or recess less than six feet in width. 

Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



49 

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON PARKS AND PLAY- 
GROUNDS, SCHOOLS AND RECREATION CENTRES OF THE NEW 
YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION, PRE- 
PARED BY ALDERMAN JAMES E, CAMPBELL, CHAIRMAN. 
The Committee submit the following recommendations based upon the evidence 

and suggestions submitted at the hearings of the Committee and upon investigations 

made by the members of the Committee. The recommendations of the Committee 

naturally divide themselves into two parts : 

I. Recommendations regarding parks and playgrounds. 

II. Recommendations regarding schools and recreation centres. 

The Committee would, however, first make two general recommendations with 
regard to the City's policy of acquisition of land for pubHc purposes. 

First: The City should acquire land in contemplation of future public needs 
as early as possible. The table submitted as an appendix to this report shows that 
in practically every case the City has saved money by purchasing land early. Even 
including the cost of buildings on the land condemnation costs and losses from 
taxes and interest charges, the assessed value of the sites of hundreds of_ public 
buildings is several hundred per cent, greater now than the total amount paid. By 
such early acquisition of land the City gets the entire increase in the value of the 
land, and it is only on this land owned by the City that it secures this increment of 
land value. Of 943 sites studied, 19 parcels, or one in every 27, had increased over 
2,000 per cent. 

Second : The City may sometimes need to sell land that is very valuable, but 
should never sell land" that is cheap, and should use the proceeds of sales of very 
valuable land to acquire cheap land. The history of the acquisition of land by New 
York City shows, unfortunately, a "piecemeal" purchase of land, entirely out of pro- 
portion to the increasing needs of the community. Of_S13 school sites in New York 
City, in 229 cases, nearly one-half, less than the entire site was purchased at one 
time'. In 17 cases the total amount of land required was secured at five different 
times, extending over a series of years. Two typical instances of the cost of this 
delay in acquiring land are the site of School 21, 33 Greenwich st., where the City 
paid in 1849, $0.79 per square foot, and in 1905, 56 years later, paid $13.37 per square 
foot. In the same way land was purchased by the City for School 34, Norman, 
Eckford and Oakland sts., Brooklyn, m 1867, for $0.23, while it paid in 1906, or 
.30 years later, $7.16 per square foot, or thirty-one times as much. 

I. Recommendations Regarding Parks and Playgrounds and Standard of Parks 

AND Playgrounds. 
Officials of the Department of Parks have appeared before the Committee in 
reference to the Parks and Playgrounds situated in New York City. Mr. Howard 
Bradstreet, Superintendent of Recreation in Manhattan and Richmond, differen- 
tiated classes of Parks as follows : 

1. Excursion Parks, e. g.. Van Cortlandt. 

2. Landscape Parks, e. g.. Central, Riverside. 

3. Ornamental Parks, e. g., Madison Square. 

4. Athletic Fields, e. g., Jasper Oval. 

5. Playgrounds, e. g., Hamilton Fish. 

The Committee, m making their report, have adopted this general suggestion, 
but realize that it is necessary to recognize the economic limitations of providing 
excursion parks, and even larger parks, in certain sections of the City \vhere land 
is enormously expensive. They also appreciate the necessity of establishing a cer- 
tain standard of area, that is, a certain number of square feet, as a minimum 
amount of playground which should be provided for every child. Thirty (30) 
square feet has been suggested as the minimum, although eighty (80) square feet 
is a more reasonable allowance. An equally important point, however, has been 
emphasized before the Committee, that this park area must be accessible to the 
children in the neighborhood, since few children can go more than half a mile, 
and usually not more than a quarter of a mile, to a playground. The existence of 
large parks, such as Central Park, Crotona and Van Cortlandt Parks, and The 
Bronx Park in The Bronx, and Prospect Park in Brooklyn, while swelling the total 
park area of the City, is of little value in the problem of securing playgrounds for 
children, since a relatively small number of the entire City's population can live 
within a distance of one-quarter to one-half mile of such parks, _ which, as has been 
suggested to the Committee, are really excursion _ parks. Itis impossible to deter- 
mine the total area and playground area that will be required in certain districts 
if they are permitted to grow up in the same haphazard way as have most of the 



so 

boroughs of New York City. The Committee have been impressed with the fact 
that in all of the outlying boroughs of the City_ there is a very inadequate provision 
of parks and playgrounds when we exclude the total acreage of the enormous ex- 
cursion parks, which, as above noted, are not available for play purposes to the 
children of the neighborhood. So long as it is permissible to erect four and five- 
story tenements in outlying districts, where small two-family houses, or at most 
three-story tenements, should be permitted, it will be difficult for the City to deter- 
mine the total park area required. 

Suggestions Regarding New Parks and Playgrounds. 

Third : Various suggestions have been made as to the methods of acquiring 
more parks and playgrounds. Until a comparatively few years ago the City paid 
for these out of the General Fund, but in 1907 a ruling was adopted by the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment that any proposition for parks and playgrounds 
was not to be considered unless the cost was to be assessed upon the property ben- 
efited. The result of this action has been that, while for several years prior to 1907 
nearly 100 acres of park area were acquired by the City every year, during 1908^ 
following the adoption of this resolution by the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment, only 14 acres of parks were acquired by the City. It seems evident that a 
certain amount of park area should be acquired by the City, and if it is not paid 
for by local assessment some other arrangement should be found for paying therefor. 
It has been suggested before the Committee that part of the cost of parks should 
be assessed upon the property benefited, part upon the Borough in which located, 
and part upon the City. The Committee would call attention to the fact that during 
the past the City has purchased land at enormous prices for park purposes in Man- 
hattan, paying in many instances at the rate of over $1,000,000 per acre. It seems, 
therefore, manifestly improper and unjust that .the City, having made all these 
provisions for the congested districts of the City, should refuse to make similar 
provisions in the sections of the City where land is cheap, and where wage earners 
may live comfortably and with a reasonable expenditure for rent. 

The Committee therefore recommends that the City acquire land for parks and 
playgrounds in the outlying Boroughs, part of the cost thereof to be assessed upon 
the property benefited, part upon the Borough in which located, and part upon the 
City. They realize that providing a healthy working population in the Boroughs of 
Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Richmond adds materially to the value of land 
to be used for commercial and business purposes in Manhattan, and there is no- 
reason why this valuable land in Manhattan should not pay part of this cost for 
the City. A second suggestion made to the Committee is that the buildings should 
be demolished at the ends of congested blocks, and that the areas thus vacated 
should be improved by the City as parks or public places. The Committee, however, 
finds that the assessed land values alone of many of these blocks are as high as 
$8 to $20 per square foot, that is, the land alone in these blocks would cost from 
$500,000' to $1,200,000 per acre, aside from the cost of the buildings, which would 
probably be about 50 per cent, of this amount, and it seems to them that it is not 
feasible to attempt to make ideal conditions for the people living in the congested 
districts for which this has been particularly suggested, sisce it is, not feasible or 
practical for many more years to have the City's working population in these sec- 
tions, which will probably be improved for commercial and business purposes within 
a few years. It is true that many insanitary buildings should be demolished, and 
the City might rent these parcels of land for park and playground purposes, as also 
the lots now vacant. 

The President of the Department of Taxes and Assessments has furnished the 
Committee with a list of vacant separately assessed parcels in each Borough, as 
follows : 



Manhattan 
Bronx . . . . 
Brooklyn . 
Queens . . . 
Richmond 



Number. 


Percentage of 
Total Parcels. 


9,061 
32,022 
48,046 
73,899 
15,872 


9 

52 
24 
64 
54 



178,900 35 



51 

Every parcel which contains any improvements, however slight, is counted as an 
improved parcel. 

The suggestion was made to the Committee that legislation should be enacted 
requiring property owners to rent their land to the City for use as parks and play- 
grounds, and also that a transfer of property from one City department to another 
should be facilitated by prompt action of the Commissioners of the Sinking- Fund. 

Section 205 of the Charter provides in part : 

"That the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund shall have power to assign to use 
for any public purpose any city property for whatsoever purpose originally acquired 
which may be found by the Department having control thereof to be no longer required 
for such purposes." 

It is therefore evident that it is entirely feasible for the City to transfer parcels 
of land from one City department to another and it is quite within the scope of the City 
authorities to have such transfer made promptly. The Committee after consideration 
of the suggestion that the owners of property should be required to lease their prop- 
erty for park purposes, feel that this is not a feasible suggestion, but nevertheless sug- 
gest that the owners should be urged strongly to do so. The following table gives 
the Park acreage by Boroughs in the City in 1909 : 

Per cent, of Assessed 

Park Area Population Borough Value Percent, 

in Acres per Acre of Area in of Parks Capital 

Borough (mapped). Park Areas. Parks Acquired. Invested. 

Manhattan 1,141 1,589 10.3 $341,665,500 00 105.55 

Brooklyn 1,178 1,266 2.4 46.500.90C 00 31.50 

The Bronx 3,943 83 15.2 27,951,000 00 86.83 

Queens 1,101 211 1.5 1,771,000 00 10.07 

Richmond 68 1,127 0.2 198,250 00 3.31 

Entire City VIZI 572 3.7 $418,085,650 00 94.98 

The Committee also recommend that the Commission request the Board of 
Aldermen to pass an ordinance permitting the City to supervise as playgrounds land 
owned by private citizens. As indicated to the Committee by Mr. Bradstreet, there 
are many such parcels throughout the City, the use of which would be given without 
charge by the owners provided this was permitted, but under the present law the 
Park Department cannot pay any City employee who works on private ground. 

Fourth: The Committee further recommend that adequate appropriation be 
made by the City for the maintenance of parks and playgrounds and for supervision 
of these where necessary. Although simple apparatus may be used without much 
supervision, nevertheless the work of the Supervisor is of great importance not only 
in directing the play of the children, but in training and forming their character; 
especially would the Committee urge that adequate park and_ playground provision, 
with supervision, be made for the outlying Boroughs of the City. 

II. Schools and Recreation Centers. 

Hon. Egerton L. Winthrop, President, and Superintendent W. H. Maxwell, and 
Miss Grace Strachan, all of the Board of Education, and other citizens interested in the 
school problem of the City, have appeared before your Committee in reference to the 
congestion of schools. The Department of Education has submitted figures_ show- 
ing that there were on October 31, 1910, 5,933 classes having from 41 to 50 pupils, and 
2,643 classes from 51 to 60 pupils, and 257 having more than 60 pupils, while 10 had 
registers of over 81. As part of this report, is submitted a record of the average 
attendance of pupils per room in each of the schools in each school district, with 
a record of the number of school rooms having a registration of 60 to 70, and 70 to 80' 
pupils. Dr. Maxwell suggested that instead of providing so many new classes, 
it might be possible to divide the number of pupils in the school room and have 
an assistant teacher who would instruct the backward pupils and assist the teacher 
in correcting the written work of the pupils. Dr. Maxwell agreed, however, that it 
is best not to have a registration of over 40 to a class. 

Miss Strachan, who appeared before the Committee, stated that she had in 
her districts a great many classes of over 50 and that she would rather have this 
condition than to have the children on the streets. She said that she was quite sat- 
isfied to have the registration of 40 pupils, although good work was being- done in 
classes with 45 pupils registered. 

First : The Committee recommend that sufficient appropriation be made to the 



52 

Department of Education to provide a teacher for every 40 pupils in the elementary 
schools on the basis of the registration and within one-third of a mile of the homes of 
pupils ten years of age and under, and three-quarters of a mile of the homes of pupils 
over ten years of age, and further, that a suitable school room be provided on the same 
basis for every 40 pupils registered. 

Second : The Committee also recommend that no school building outside of 
Manhattan should be over three stories' in height, nor have accommodations for 
more than 1500 pupils, and that not over 40 seats be provided in any room in any ele- 
mentary school. 

Third : The Committee recommend that adequate yard area be provided for 
every school purchased, and in case there is not sufficient playground area within 
accessible distance of the homes of pupils attending the school, that it be ac- 
quired in connection with the school site or in the vicinity, so as to provide an area 
of at least 60 square feet for every child of school age. The suggestion has been 
made to the Committee that indoor playgrounds are ample substitutes for outdoor 
plaj^grounds, but although this substitution may be necessary in the congested districts 
of the City, the Committee feel that the suggestion is not feasible for the Boroughs 
outside of Manhattan, since the basement playgrounds or playgrounds on the first 
floor are apt to be damp, ill-lighted and poorb^ ventilated. 

Fourth : The Committee recommend that the Department of Education be re- 
quested to give more instruction in physiology and hygiene and to impress upon 
school children the physical effects of room overcrowding. 

Fifth : The Committee recommend that training in gardening be given as part 
of the required school work for every pupil, since this would have an important in- 
fluence in encouraging children, and, through them, their parents, to remove from 
the congested districts. 

Sixth : The Committee have made a careful study of the provisions for Recrea- 
tion Centres, and the opportunity for recreation in the various Boroughs outside of 
Manhattan and in New York City, and they find that while large provision has been 
made in most sections of Manhattan and some sections of Brooklyn, that little ef- 
fort has been made comparatively to attract the population to outlying Boroughs 
by providing recreation centres and playgrounds, and therefore recommend that 
the Department of Education be urged to adopt the policy of attracting people to 
these newer sections of the City, as yet undeveloped, by providing these attractions 
in these sections. 

Seventh: The Committee have not felt it within their jurisdiction to discuss 
the advantages of supervision of recreation by the Park Department and the De- 
partment of Education, or by the creation of a Recreation Department, as has been 
suggested. It is apparent, however, that it would be advantageous to have these edu- 
cational activities under one department, and the Committee recommend that the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment be requested to consider this matter in 
their study of the Department of Education. 

Eighth : The Committee recommend that the Department of Education should 
take steps immediately to provide as ample accommodations for pupils, in the Bor- 
oughs outside of Manhattan as in that Borough, since they believe that every in- 
ducement and advantage offered by the City in congested sections should be pro- 
vided in less densely populated sections of the City as a means of attracting people 
to those sections. 

STATEMENT SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE ON PARKS AND PLAY- 
GROUNDS, SCHOOLS AND RECREATION CENTERS. 
A. Statement by William H. Maxwell, Superintendent of Schools. 

Dr. Maxwell took up the information requested by the Committee as follows : 

1st. Number of rooms, by schools, now in use, which are not fit to be used for 
school purposes. 

2nd. What amount in addition to the appropriations requested by the Department 
of Education for 1911, will be required for each borough to rent or provide otherwise, 
one room well lighted by natural light and suitable for school purposes for every 35 
pupils, on the basis of the average attendance, and within one-third of a mile of the 
home of every pupil ten years of age or under, and within three-quarters of a mile 
of every pupil in the elementary schools over ten years of age? 

^\hat amount in addition to the appropriations requested by the Depart- 
ment of Education will be required to provide a teacher for every 35 pupils on the 
basis of the average attendance with the same provision as in (2) for proximity to the 
homes of the pupils? 

What amount in addition to the appropriations requested by the Department of 



S3 

Education will be required for 1911 to provide adequately for the City's High School 
needs? 

He presented a report on this subject (as appended herewith) from Associate 
Superintendent Thomas D. O'Brien. In substance, an estimate was given that there 
are 67,368 pupils in classes having more than 40 to a class, and that to furnish an 
extra teacher for every 40 pupils would require 1,684 teachers, and, at $900 each, the 
cost for their salaries would be $1,515,000. The estimate did not present, however, the 
amount required to rent additional rooms for these pupils. 

Dr. Maxwell stated, however, that he had a way which had not yet been approved 
by the Board of Education, and which he submitted entirely on his own responsibility . 
for dealing with the problem of large classes. He suggested that an assistant teacher 
should be provided for all rooms in which there was an excess of pupils, who should 
assist the regular teacher in correcting all of the written work of this class, and who 
should also take care of backward pupils in these rooms by special instruction. This 
plan has been in operation in Batavia, N. Y., and has proven successful. New 
York City has a large number of substitute teachers who could be used in this way, 
and if the grade of assistant teachers were created, they might go into grade work- 
in this way, at least in the classes which now have over 60, of which there are 145. 
The expense could be largely met out of the money now used for substitutes. The 
system has already been tried in case of 50 or 60 classes of backward pupils. It would 
be preferable probably for the present to use substitute teachers, since the Board of 
Education would not have money available now to pay $500 per year for assistant 
teachers. The total cost would be $72,500. 

Dr. Maxwell stated that it would not be feasible to rent enough rooms for excess 
pupils that are fit for the purpose, since not a single building now rented is really fit 
for the purpose. 

He suggested that the Committee recommend furnishing class rooms with mov- 
able furniture as is done in Germany, and in the Ethical Culture School, New York 
City. This would be especially important for the assistant teachers since it would 
enable them to take part of the large classes into a corner and teach without disturb- 
ing the others. 

There should be at least five hours per day for all elementary schools, and this 
time should not be shortened. In case of the children of foreign parents, not only 
the children, but the parents, would get the benefit of the training. 

Dr. Maxwell advocated using the first floor of school buildings for covered play- 
grounds. 

He was asked what division of playground work there is between the Depart- 
ment of Parks and the Department of Education, and replied that there is no hard 
and fast division, but that there is lack of co-ordination between the Departments. 
Up to 1904, the Department of Education ran playgrounds in some of the small 
parks, and did so successfully when the Park Department took up the work. 

When asked whether he would recommend a Department of Recreation, Dr. Max- 
well replied, that in his judgment this is unnecessary, because the Department of 
Education can manage playgrounds efficiently and economically as they have the 
people to do the work and the machinery for doing it. Last summer the average 
daily attendance in the plavgrounds in the City, under the control of the Board of 
Education, was over 119,000. There are more playgrounds of this sort needed, and 
have been asked for in the Budget for 1911. 

The Secretary asked whether in Mr. Maxwell's judgment, in the outlying bor- 
oughs, there should be more than 1,500 pupils to a school, and he replied, that ordin- 
arily this was a sufficiently large number. 

Dr. Maxwell stated that in densely built up sections, large buildings must be 
erected. In other sections it would be unwise to do so. One question to be con- 
sidered is how far parents will permit the children to go to attend school. In these 
days of automobiles, etc., they are afraid to have them go too far. 

He instanced a case of a school building in Queens, where there are 11 stages 
carrying the children to the school and yet there are 12 vacant rooms. 

B. Statement by Mr. Howard Bradstreet, Superintendent of Recreation in 
Manhattan and Richmond. 

There are a number of vacant areas in different sections of the City that could be 
put at the disposal of the Park Department for playgrounds if 'this were permitted; 
but under the law the Park Department could not pay any City employee to work 
on private grounds. It was suggested that the Commission should request the Board 
of Aldermen and Board of Estimate and Apportionment to pass an ordinance per- 
mitting the City to administer as playgrounds land owned by private citizens. 

The Committee suggested that the City could for a nominal sum, such as $1, 
lease areas available for playgrounds and have charge of the playgrounds on this basis. 



54 

He suggested that the City might remit taxes on vacant land for the time during 
which it was used for playground purposes or for such shorter length of time as 
would be equivalent to a fair rental, as is done in St. Louis. 

Mr. Bradstreet differentiated classes of parks as — 

1. Excursion parks, e. g., Van Cortlandt. 

2. Landscape parks, e. g.. Central, Riverside. 

3. Ornamental parks, e. g., Madison Square. 

4. Athletic fields, e. g., Jasper Oval. 

5. Playgrounds, e. g., Hamilton Fish. 

It was suggested that in Manhattan, where land is expensive and only limited 
areas are available, that soft balls should be used for baseballs and that diamonds 
between bases be 45 feet instead of 90 feet; also a law to legalize baseball playing on 
Sunday might be advocated by the Commission. 

The baseball diamonds in Crotona Park had been cut up to prevent Sunday 
playing, while in most of the Boroughs baseball cannot be played on vacant lots without 
the permission of adjoining owners. 

Mr. Bradstreet suggested that measures should be taken to facilitate the temporary 
transfer of property from one department of the City to another, and also that vacant 
property owned by the City might be utiUzed for playgrounds temporarily without 
requiring the formality now necessary for permanent transfer. 

Mr. Elliott asked Mr. Bradstreet whether the separate play buildings were neces- 
sary and whether they were more advantageous if arranged so that children could 
use them in all sorts of weather for outdoor playgrounds and whether it would not 
be feasible to add a story to schools only three or four stories high, which could be 
used for playgrounds. Mr. Bradstreet replied it was feasible to use school buildings 
and that the system of New York City by which school buildings are used so con- 
tinuously is as commendable as the South Metropolitan Park Board field house system 
in Chicago. There should be in connection with every school an adequate ground 
for recreation. All schools should have roof gardens, if possible. Alderman Hamilton 
suggested that the Commission recommend that in the future no school site should 
be purchased without providing adequate space for playgrounds. 

Mr. Bradstreet _ stated that 30 square feet of playground for each child was 
regarded as the minimum, but that to secure this is not feasible in lower Manhattan; 
but that 80 feet is a more reasonable allowance. 

_ Mr. Bradstreet suggested that a wide street or parkway with facilities for play 
in its centre, such as the Eastern parkway, or the Delancey boulevard, gives a de- 
sirable opportunity for play activity. He also stated that a small strip running from 
street to street between avenues in the centre of a block, or at the end of a block, 
making a checkerboard pattern of small playgrounds, would be the most desirable 
development in congested regions. Such a proceeding would be more advantageous 
than to remove the fences or interior buildings in the centre of a block, as it would 
be open to the safeguard of publicity, and would also promote a greater sociability 
instead of exclusiveness, which would result from the children of a given block 
playing within its limits. 

CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. 

Mr. Clarence Arthur Perry, in his book, "Wider Use of the School Plant," gives 
the following summary of the work of continuation schools. 

France. 

The number of different classes held and the kinds of courses given in the 
"adult" evening schools of Paris at the opening of the term in October, 1909, are 
■ shown in the following table : 

Classes for 
Course of Instruction. Men. Women. 



Elementary, 1 st year 84 44 

Elementary, 2d year 24 8 

Commercial, 1st year 35 21 

Commercial, 2d year 27 16 

Advanced commercial 7 1 

Freehand drawing 45 5 

Mechanical drawing 34 

Singing 22 12 

Technical Course 13 

Totals 291 107 

Number of school buildings used 109 45 



55 

The subjects taught vary from ethical and civic instructions, applications of arith- 
metic to everyday life, history of P>ance in modern times, geography of France 
and the Department of the Seine, included in the first year of the elementary course to 
more extended work in this elementary course in the second year. 

In the commercial course, penmanship, commercial arithmetic, commercial geogra- 
phy for boys, stenography and typewriting for girls, and more advanced work in these 
courses in the subsequent years, while in the technical course workshop practice, 
technology and machine drawing are taught. The technical courses for apprentices are 
held from 5 to 7 p. m. and have been organized in several public schools in Paris. 

In Munich, Germany, a city with over 500,000 inhabitants, all apprentices from 
fourteen to eighteen years of age are compelled to attend school for at least eight 
hours per week during 40 weeks of the year. There are over 8,000 of these lads, seven- 
eighths of them attend classes in which all the members belong to the same trade. 
These trades include barbers, bakers, builders, bookbinders and, in all, 39 different 
groups are represented in these "trade continuation schools." The instruction given is 
of three kinds, academic, drawing and practical. The keynote of the instruction is 
interesting the boys in their trade. Employers are obliged to allow their apprentices 
a certain amount of time each week during which they may attend the "continuation 
schools," and the balance of the required time is put in on the weekly half holidays. 
Attendance at schools is free to apprentices. Similar teaching is given in a number 
of the large German cities, namely, Magdeburg, Leipsig and Zittau. 

Nottingham, England, also provides similar courses of instruction which covers 
subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic, woodworking, wood carving for 
boys, reading, writing and sewing, sick nursing, management of children and cooking 
for girls. 

The next higher grade, the "continuation" school, offers four distinct courses. 
(1) A preparatory course of two years in elementary subjects; (2) an industrial course 
covering three years' work in English, composition, technical drawing, experimental 
and workshop mathematics and drafting for building construction; (3) a comrner- 
cial course of three years consisting of English, a modern language, commercial arith- 
metic, shorthand, bookkeeping, business correspondence and typev/riting ; (4) a 
domestic course comprising three years' training in housecraft, all kinds of needle- 
work, dressmaking, millinery, laundry work, domestic hygiene and care of the baby. 
Besides those which are prescribed, the pupils in all but the preparatory course are 
allowed to take one of the following optional subjects: English history, commercial 
geography, duties of citizenship, singing, ambulance, nursing (first aid), physical 
culture, woodwork, wood carving and any subject included in the domestic course. 

In Leeds special technical courses are given for persons engaged in the following 
trades : 

1. Mechanical and electrical engineering. 

2. Electrical industries. 

3. Building trades. 

4. Leather and boot trades. 

5. Clothing trades. 

6. Chemical and allied industries. 

7. Mining. 

8. Textile industries. 

9. Printing. 
10. Farfiery. 

London, Manchester and Halifax have as well similar "Continuation Schools." 

Statement Showing the Number of Classes in Each Borough Having Specified 
Registers as of October 31, 1910. 



Register. 


Manhattan 


The Bronx 


Brooklyn 


Queens 


Richmond 


Total 


41-45 


1,343 


300 


1,204 


234 


48 


3,129 


46-50 


1,189 


344 


1.091 


152 


28 


2,804 


51-55 


761 


245 


761 


54 


7 


1,828 


56-60 


328 


127 


341 


17 


2 


815 


61-65 


62 


- 28 


81 


S 


1 


176 


66-70 


22 


6 


21 


2 




51 


71-75 


2 




7 


4 




13 


76-80 


6 


.... 




1 




7 


81-84 


2 




'"3 






6 


88-101 


3 


1 


.... 






4 



56 

A study of the price paid by the City per square foot for land acquired for 
school sites at different periods and in different sections of Manhattan and Brook- 
lyn — in which boroughs approximately three-fourths of the city's population is 
located — is most illuminating and illustrates the enormous cost of failure to secure 
land early before it has acquired capitalized congestion values. 

Manhattan. 



Before 1850 1850-1900 



1901-1908 



Below Fourteenth St $0 98 

Fourteenth to Fifty-third St 30 

Fifty-third to One Hundred and Twentieth St .... 

North of One Hundred and Twentieth St.. 16 



$4 62 

2 90 

3 41 
2 79 



$13 00 

10 67 

5 87 

5 86 



Brooklyn. 



Prior to 1850 



1851-1900 



1901-1908 



Section I 
Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11 

Section H 
Wards 6, 10, 12 

Section IH 
Wards 9, 20, 22 

Section IV 
Wards 13, 15, 16, 18, 19. 

Section V 
Wards 14, 17 

Section VI 
Wards 8, 30, 31 

Section VII 
Ward 26 

Section IX 
Wards 23, 24, 25, 27, 28... 

Section X 
Wards 29 and 32 



$0 90 



14 



$41 65 


$3 89 


1 46 


3 05 


1 14 


1 79 


87 


2 29 


74 


1 32 


26 


78 


18 


1 27 


62 


1 01 


23 


45 



It will be noted that whereas the lowest price paid in Manhattan per square foot 
between 1851 and 1900 was $2.79, the highest price paid in Brooklyn's densely popu- 
lated wards from 1901 to 1908 was only $3.89 — $1.10 per square foot more — and the 
price per square foot paid in Manhattan from 1901 to 1908 varied from $13 to $5.86; 
i. e._, from more than three times, or about one and one-half times as much as paid 
during the same period for school sites in the central part of Brooklyn, and from 
fifteen to thirty times as much as was paid in the. outlying wards of- Brooklyn. 

Unbusinesslike Methods of Securing Land for School Sites. 
The following table shows in one case in each borough the penalty the City has paid 
by failing to secure land for school sites. The record of nearly every school site 
purchased in Manhattan is an almost equal indictment of this piecemeal policy: 

Manhattan. 
School 14, 33 Greenwich Avenue. 

Per sq. ft. 

1849 $0 79 

1851 84 

1 890 8 40 

1897 9 56 

1905 13 37 

The Bronx. 
School 18, Cortlandt Ave., between College and 148th Sts. 

Per sq. ft. 

1848 $0 03 

1885 1 07 

1896 2 18 



Queens. 
School 58, Grafton Ave., Clinton Place and Walker St. 



Brooklyn. 
School 34, Norman, Eckford and Oakland Sts. 



1858 
1880 
1892 
1897 
1908 



1867 

1904 

1906 , 

Richmond. 
School 20, Elizabeth, Vreeland, Heberton Sts. and Broadway. 

1842 

1876 

1897 

1908 

Cases in which the City has purchased sites piecemeal, and number of times land 
has been secured for sites for one school in different j^ears : 



Per sq. ft. 
$0 02 
07 
12 
17 
43 


Per sq. ft. 
$0 23 
3 16 
7 16 


Per sq. ft. 

$0 02 

52 

49 

80 



No. of Sites T't'l 
Three Four Five Six Total Purchased No. 
Twice Times Times Times Times Cases Outright Sites 



Manhattan 45 

The Bronx 12 

Brooklyn 38 

Queens 18 

Richmond 12 



30 


10 


9 


3 


2 


1 


22 


8 


4 


4 


2 


1 


4 


1 


2 



94 


63 


157 


18 


32 


50 


72 


98 


- 170 


26 


1Z 


99 


19 


18 


-37 



Total 






... 125 63 23 


17 




1 


229 




284 


513 


Table 
sites and 


sh( 
the 


swing 
price 


Assessed Values and Price Paid, 
the relation between the Assessed Valuation 
paid for them. 


of 


certain 


school 


Borough. 






Assessed Value 












Price 


Paid 



Manhattan $703,500 00 $1,271,585 Z1 

The Bronx 142.000 00 581,410 00 

Brooklyn 41,400 00 142,900 00 

Queens 20,700 00 46,122 25 

Richmond 3,400 00 7,200 00 

Department of Education, The City of New York, the Board of Superintendents, 
Park avenue and Fifty-ninth street, October 21, 1910. 
Dr. WILLIAM H. MAXWELL, City Superintendent of Schools : 

Dear Sir — I have your direction, dated October 19, to ascertain the number of 
pupils in excess of 40 who are now in the elementary school classes, and to ascertain 
how many extra teachers would be required to teach said excess pupils, and the cost 
of said extra teachers at an average salary of $900. 

Secretary Bussey furnishes the following : 

(a) Number of classes containing from 41 to 50 pupils 6,125 

(b) Number of classes containing from 50 to 60 pupils 1,939 

(c) Number of classes containing more than 60 pupils 145 

I exclude the classes which contain fewer than 41, because I understand a class 

register of 40 is not deemed excessive. 

Probability distributes the registers of (a) so that their average size is. . 45^ 

The average excess over 40' is, therefore Sy2 

6.125 X 51/4 33.688 

Similarly the average size of the (b> classes is 55^ 



58 

The average excess of these classes above 40 is 15^ 

1,939 X 1514 30,055 

As to the (c) list, I assume that these classes having more than 60. the 

average is ■ • 65 

145 X 25 (the excess over 40), gives the aggregate excess in (c) as.... 3,626 

Grand total of excess pupils having more than 40 67,368 

Dividing this number by 40, we obtain the number of extra teachers 

required to teach said excess 1,684 

At $900 each, the cost for their salaries could be $1,515,600 

Respectfully yours, (Signed) THOMAS D. O'BRIEN, 

Inclosures. Associate City Superintendent. 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON STREETS AND HIGHWAYS OF THE 
NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION, 
MR. RUSSELL BLEECKER, CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee have held three meetings and examined, among others, the Chief 
Engineer of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, Mr. Nelson P. Lewis ;_ the 
Engineer in Charge of Public Improvements, Mr. Arthur S. Tuttle, and Mr. Louis L. 
Tribus, Consulting Engineer of the Borough of Richmond. 

The Committee have studied chieflv the concentration of factories, lofts and 
mercantile establishments in the centre of Manhattan, the lackof means of carrying 
freight, narrowness of streets, heights of buildings, the tearing up pi streets for 
constru-^tion of buildings and rep?irs, etc., as also the methods of widening streets 
and increasing their capacity, both foi traffic and passengers. 

The importance of the subject is apparent to any one who has seen the congestion 
of traffic and passengers in the streets downtown, and realizes the cost of widening 
streets and the relation between the nature of the streets, their composition and com- 
parative cost, to rents in the City. The tables appended show statistically the cost 
of these various items. The relation of transit lines and streets has also been touched 
upon by those who have appeared before the Committee, and the Committee on 
Transit, and suggestions made that transit lines should be determined first and the 
street lines later. 

The following subjects were considered and answers to the questions on these 
points by Borough Presidents are submitted herewith : 

(1) Are more thoroughfares needed and where? Should new parkways through 
residence sections be 150 feet wide? 

(2) Should not the Borough Presidents be asked to call upon the Park Com- 
missioners to plant trees at time the streets are laid out, the cost thereof to be 
assessed as part of the cost of the streets? 

(3) Is not carrying freight by subways preferable to carrying it on surface roads? 

(4) In view of the fact that the City is obliged to wait six months after a 
board to condemn property for public purposes is appointed before it can vest title 
but the Public Service Commission can vest title for rapid transit purposes im- 
mediately, should not legislation be secured to enable the City to acquire property 
before houses are built upon property so as to enable the owners thereof to secure 
larger damage? What method can the City adopt to protect itself effectively against 
this house planting and to secure proper widths of streets? 

(5) Should the Commission favor paving streets before sewers are put in? 

In answer to the question sent to the Borough Presidents as to what proportion 
of the Borough is provided with sewerage disposal, it is learned that there is 55 
per cent, of Brooklyn, 17.4 per cent, of Queens and 20 per cent, of Richmond. The 
Borough President of Manhattan expressed the opinion that the 'lack of such sewers 
had not in any wav prevented the construction of tenements and other dwellings, 
while the Borough Presidents of Brooklyn, Queens and Richmond stated that the lack 
of sewers had, particularly in specified sections, prevented the construction of tene- 
ments and other dwellings. In reply to the question as to whether it is wise to 
permit streets to be paved before sewers for sewerage disposal are constructed or 
such sewers be constructed first, the Borough Presidents of Manhattan, The Bronx 
and Brooklyn indicate that it would be wisest not to permit this, while the Borough 
President of Queens stated it depended upon local conditions. 

In reference to planting trees at the time streets are paved and assessing the 
cost thereof on the streets or on the property benefited, there was a difference of 
opinion ; the Borough President of Manhattan stated that tree planting was only 
feasible in the residence streets. The Borough President of The Bronx stated that 
it was entirely practical to plant trees even at the time the streets are regulated and 



59 

graded, which is frequently a number of years before they are paved, but does not 
know if the cost should be legally assessed upon the property benefited or not, although 
probably not. The Queens Borough President stated that trees should be planted as 
soon as possible. The Richmond Borough President thought that the trees should 
be planted by the Department of Parks and maintained by it without local assessment. 

Congestion of Streets — The appended table shows the number of vehicles passing 
a certain point in lower Manhattan between given hours and also the number of 
passengers which have used the sidewalks at the same time, the number of people 
entering certain buildings within certain periods. While it has not been possible for 
your Committee to make an elaborate study of the loss of time due to the large 
number of vehicles held up at street crossings, it is evident that with as high as 2,526 
vehicles passing a given point, as was the case at Broadway and Fulton sts., 
Tuesday, October 27, 1907, in the one hour between 4 and 5 o'clock p. m., & 
large amount of the time must inevitably be lost with the delay occasioned while the 
streams of traffic alternate. At Broadway and Chambers sts. it was found by the 
Police Department that between 10 and 11 a. m. on Tuesday, October 22, 1907, 2,412 
vehicles passed. These figures give some indication of the enormous wear and tear 
upon the streets, moreover due to the concentration of factories, ofBce buildings and 
places of business in the limited district below Chambers st. It was found, too, 
that nearly 2,973 people left the National Bank of Commerce Building, 31 Nassau 
St., in one hour, from 3 to 4 p. m., on August 3, 1908. 

Width of Streets — There are in lower Manhattan, between Fulton, Pearl, Water, 
Whitehall, Battery place and Greenwich sts., two streets for some distance 20 fe,et 
wide, having buildings two to ten stories, one street for some distance 24 feet wide 
having buildings two to eight stories, seven streets for some distance 30 to 34 feet 
wide having buildings two to seventeen stories, and one street for some distance 75 
feet wide having buildings twenty to thirty-six stories. It is evident that, with such 
narrow streets and with absolutely no limit on the height of buildings, congestion of 
traffic and passengers is inevitable and that no device that can be adopted and no 
public regulation, however drastic, will be efifective in preventing waste of time if the 
buildings are permitted to be constructed to unlimited heights. 

The Royal Commission on London Traffic suggest in their report that new or 
widened streets should be divided into five classes : 

Main avenues 140 feet wide. 

First-class arterial streets 100 feet wide. 

Second-class streets 80 feet wide. 

Third-class streets 60 feet wide. 

Fourth-class streets 40-60 feet wide. 

This recommendation is made for cities where there is a cubage or volume limit 
because a limit on the height of buildings. 

Most of the streets in Manhattan^ except below Chambers St., are from 60 to 
75 feet wide except the avenues, Grand st., 14th st., 23d St., 34th St., 42d st., 116th st. 
and 125th st., which are about 100 feet. 

While wide parkways are feasible in some districts, the cost of wide streets is 
relatively very great. 

In order to reduce the rent, streets in garden cities and smaller towns abroad are 
made as narrow as 18 to 37 feet, usually with the requirement that houses shall be set 
back a few feet from the lot line, 15 to 20 feet ordinarily, so that the street can 
subsequently be widened without undue expense. This open space in front is, of 
course, included in the proportion of the lot area not occupied. These narrower streets 
reduce the rent from 2 to 8 per cent., according to the material of which the street is 
made. 

Restrictions on Volume or Cubage — Mayor McClellan's Building Code Revision 
Commission recommended that, while no restrictions be placed upon the height of 
buildings, that the volume should be restricted, so that the volume of any building 
should not be greater than 174 times the area of the lot; this would mean that if 
each story were 14 feet high the building would be limited to 12, and if each story 
were 12 feet high the building would be limited to 14 stories flat, providing the total 
area of the lot were covered. In point of fact, however, the volume or cubage of the 
German-American Insurance Company Building, instead of being 174 times the area 
of the lot, is 254 times the area of the lot, and the City Investing Building in one 
part is 313 times the area of the lot, and in another section 298 times the area of the 
lot, while many other buildings have a cubage from one-third to one-half in excess 
of the proposed limit. 

One of the important measures of the large amount of drayage and congestion of 
the trafiic is the record of freight handled at the terminals of the railroads. Thus the 



60 

N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. report that the total net tonnage brought to New York City 
by this company and the New England Navigation Company during 1909 was 1,417,544 
net tons, of which the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co. brought to the Harlem River local 
and to piers 44 and 45, East River, 659,234 tons, while 103,911 tons were brought to Pier 
11, North River, and 292,990 to Piers 18 and 19, North River. Similarly 1,379,781 net 
tons were forwarded from these stations in about the same proportion. The Erie Rail- 
road report that they received at their Duane street station for the year ending June 30, 
1910, 295,159 tons and forwarded from this station 182,803 tons, and from Pier 7, East 
River, they forwarded 58,386 tons and received 34,177 tons. 

What Unlimited Volume or Building Would Mean in Lower Manhattan — The 
Committee have also compiled data showing the effect upon the street traffic of lower 
Manhattan of building the island up to a certain height. In 1908 they found that 
there was available for rent in the available area of Manhattan, below Chambers 
St., 7,422,000 square feet of land, and that, if a reasonable factor of rentability were 
taken for the buildings of various heights in this important section of Manhattan 
below Chambers st., that 15-story buildings would give a net floor space available 
for renting of 72,350,000 square feet, while, if the districts were improved 
by 25-story buildings, it would provide a net floor space of 111,300,000 square 
feet. It is very seldom that more than 110 square feet of floor space, even in the 
most expensive and best arranged and equipped offices is provided for every occupant, 
and manifestly the improvement of the land available below Chambers st. by such 
height of buildings from 15 to 25 stories would mean an absolutely impossible burden 
upon the narrow streets of this section, which are entirely inadequate at present for 
the traffic which is forced through them, since a flat level of 25 stories would furnish 
accommodations for about 1,012,000 persons. 

Cost of Lack of City Planning — The appended table of typical costs of widening 
streets shows that the delay to make such widening which is included in a city plan 
is a very serious financial one; thus the net cost of widening Delancey st., includ- 
ing Commissioners' fees, and condemnation awards, amounted to $8,490,662.36. This 
property was acquired from 1899 to 1906 inclusive, and represented about one-tenth of 
the total City Budget for 1899. The exact cost to the City of a lack of a city plan 
is extremely difficult to estimate, since there are many factors entering into it, among 
others the fact that exorbitant prices have been charged for the property when it has 
been known that it is to be used by the City, while also the interest charges due to the 
City's failure to pay as it goes along, with the excessive fees paid Condemnation 
Commissioners and other items have swollen the cost so that an absolutel}^ accurate 
comparison is not feasible. On the other hand, the broad fact remains that the City 
is in the habit of paying anywhere from two to five times as much for property a 
few years after the need for the improvement is recognized as it would have to 
pay if it acquired it when the need for it is first recognized. 

The appended table, prepared by Mr. Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment, on the cost of making the improvements 
suggested by the Mayor's City Improvement Commission, is most significant. In 1907 
he estimates the total cost of these few improvements were $86,808,000, without any 
provision for anything in the Boroughs of Queens and Richmond. The land values, 
however, have been increased since that time so that they are at present from 5 to 
15 per cent, or more, higher than the amounts given and the total cost will be 
approximately $100,000,000, without including anything in the two Boroughs of Queens 
and Richmond. 

The table submitted also by the Committee shows the cost of street widening from 
• 1905 to 1906 inclusive, total, was over $25,000,000. The mere fact that over one-half 
of this amount is assessed upon the property benefited does not in any way af¥ect 
the argument for early acquisition of land by the City as the City has paid and will 
continue to pay enormous amounts for its failure to make a reasonable plan for the 
City as a whole and to require real estate operators and developers conform to 
such a plan as is based upon the needs of the City as a whole and not upon the 
whims and caprices of property developers. 

American Methods of City Planning — A further study has been made by the 
Committee of the systems which are adopted bv American cities during which they 
have communicated with engineers of large American and Canadian cities. The 
methods adopted are submitted herewith as an appendix to the report, but it will 
be noted that only a few of the cities have the power to compel real estate dealers 
to comply with the plans for the city's development prepared by the City Engineer, 
but every city recognizes that this is necessary in order to secure a normal develop- 
ment of the city and to save the city enormous expense. It is individuals and cor- 
porations that control the development of the city instead of the authorities elected 
to do so. 



61 

Foreign Methods of City Planning — In direct contrast to the American in- 
dividualistic methods of development of cities is the method of Continental and 
British cities in which, as your Committee have indicated in their appended report on 
the subject, the city authorities themselves determine the plans for the city. 

Your Committee would call attention to the fact that the most significant and 
distinguishing feature of foreign city planning is the control by the city over develop- 
ments and the districting of the city into distinctive parts by the creation of "zones." 
Each zone has its individual building code which applies to every kind of building 
since distinction is not made in most foreign countries between the Building Code 
as applying to tenements, and office or factory buildings. 

The English Town Planning Act is similar in its purport and gives wide dis- 
cretionary power to the municipal authorities, subject, however, to review by the 
Local Government Board. In both English and other Continental town planning, 
however, the right of the city to determine absolutely the number of cottages is 
recognized and the evil conditions of congestion which have occurred in the centre 
of the city are prevented by the law, which determines absolutely the conditions of 
the newer sections of the city. This is necessarily a rough and ready justice, since 
land speculators in foreign cities, as well as in American cities, anticipate the com- 
munity's need and speculate vigorously in selected tracts, even in the outlying districts 
of the city. The fact, however, that real estate operators speculate in land is not 
regarded in foreign countries as any reason why the Government should fail to 
enforce healthy conditions in those parts of the city where the general enforcement 
of such conditions is perfectly just and fair. 

The data submitted by the Committee shows also that only about four-fifths of 
the Borough of The Bronx has been finally mapped, less than one-fourth of Queens, 
and less than one-fifteenth of Richmond, while only one-half of Brooklyn remains 
to be finally mapped. 

They therefore, as the result of study of these conditions, submit the following 
recommendations : 

Recommendations of the Committee on Streets and Highways of the New York 
City Commission on Congestion of Population. 

The Committee in following the suggestions which have been made by those 
who have appeared before the Committee and as a result of their own study of 
the problem make the following recommendations, and ask that the Committee on 
Legislation be instructed to draft legislation providing for the measures suggested in 
these recommendations, with the exception of the first recommendation, which should 
be made directly to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and Board of Alder- 
men. 

First : The Committee recommend the immediate preparation of a comprehensive 
plan for the development of New York City, as is now contemplated by the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment. In the judgment of the Committee such a plan 
must be made by a central authority of the City, and they feel that the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment Engineers should have the chief part in preparing 
such a plan, together with such experts as are selected by the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment. The figures submitted by the Committee show that a large pro- 
portion of the boroughs of Queens and Richmond are not yet mapped, so that 
there is adequate opportunity to make such a plan for the future of these Boroughs. 
The Committee have not had the funds to make such plans in detail, but recognize 
that it must be made immediately, and that such a plan should be mandatory upon 
the City. The figures attached show some of the costs to the City from the absence 
of such a plan. The main points which should be provided for in the City plan 
are : 

(A) The restriction of the heights of buildings in certain districts. 

(B) The restriction of factories to certain districts. 

(C) The provision for transit lines and means of carrying freight upon the 
basis of such a districting of the City. 

(D) The determination of the main lines of streets and secondary streets as 
suggested by Mr. Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the Board of Estimate. 

(E) Provision for sewers and sewage disposal and substructures for pipes. 

(F) Provision of adequate sites for parks and playground and recreation centres 
and Municipal buildings of various sorts. 

(G) Acquisition of adequate land by the City. 

The Committee wish, however, emphatically to call attention to the fact that 
while such a city plan Is essential for the proper development of the City, it in itself 
is not sufificient to prevent congestion of population and room overcrowding, and 
might, under certain proceedure, aggravate the conditions with which the Commission 



62 

have been dealing, unless such plans are made with due regard to securing adequate 
cheap land for houses for wage earners, and unless steps are taken to ensure that the 
increase in the land values due to the community action shall be secured by the City. 
Even before, however, such a city plan is definitely prepared your Committee feel 
that several steps should be undertaken at once, as follows : 

Second: The Committee recognize that the restriction of the height of buildings 
is essential, since the cost of widening the narrow streets of the City, especially 
lower Manhattan, is practically prohibitive, and there is no economic or business 
necessity for increasing the height of buildings in "many sections of lower Manhat- 
tan, and recommend that in lower Manhattan buildings should not exceed a cubage of 
174 times the area of the site; in upper Manhattan and lower Bronx, the western 
part of Brooklyn, of 125 times the area of the site; in the rest of New York of 
75 times the area of the site. 

Third : The Committee recommend that the parkways should be at least 150 feet 
wide, since this seems to be the minimum width feasible for roadways of this im- 
portance. 

Fourth : The Committee recommend that very cheap land in outlying districts 
of the City be developed with homes for wage earners, and that narrow streets,- 
even 30 feet wide, be permitted, in every case with the sanction of the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment, since the cost of making and maintaining wider streets 
is a very serious item in the rent, and the narrow streets mean a saving of from 2 to 
8 per cent, in the rent of homes. In view of the fact, however, that the development 
of the City may require wider streets later, they recommend that legislation be secured 
by which the City may require that on all streets under 40 feet in width, the houses 
shall be set back from the curb line at least 10 feet, or that ike roadwav of roads 
in such districts should be very narrow and the street courts very wide, which 
would permit later widening of the streets to at least 40 to 60 feet, and provided 
that the lots be of such depth that when streets are widened by taking off the front 
garden or yard they will still be about 100 feet deep. They recommend, however, 
that at least every third street should be 50 feet wide, and that there should be streets 
not less than 2,000 feet apart, at least 75 feet wide. 

Fifth: The Committee recommend that legislation should be passed forbidding 
any property owner to transfer his property unless he has filed with the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment, prior to sale, a map showing the subdivision of the 
property, and showing that it has been approved and accepted by the City, provided 
that such approval must be given or changes recommended by the city authorities 
within six months of the time the plans are submitted to them. 

Sixth : The Committee recommend that no development shall be approved by 
the City unless a map showing such development shall be filed and accepted by the 
City as in conformity with the plans for the development of the district, provided 
that such approval must be given or changes recommended by the city authorities 
within six months of the time the plan of the development is submitted to them. 

Seventh: The Committee recommend that the City should immediately acquire 
as much land as will be necessary for public purposes for the proper development of 
the City. 

Eighth : The Committee recommend that legislation be secured providing for 
the arcading of narrow streets through setting back the first story where necessary, 
and providing adequate foot-ways for passengers. They are convinced that it is an 
unjustifialDle expenditure of the City's money to acquire title to expensive land along 
these narrow streets, since it involves an excessive price for the land and the con- 
struction of higher buildings on such land will nullify the values increasing from 
'the slight widening of the streets. Where necessary the City should be_ permitted to 
allow pillars as support of buildings above the first story, and legislation to enable 
this should be secured.. 

Ninth : The Committee recommend that encroachments on narrow streets should 
be prohibited, and that where it is impossible or impracticable to remove such en- 
croachments immediately, that the owners of the property should be charged rental 
for the public land used with a provision that such use of the land should be only 
during the life of the building, and that no additional buildings will be permitted by 
the City, or for a specified time. 

Tenth: The Committee recommend that subways be provided for passengers 
on crowded streets, such as at the corner of Fulton st. and Broadway, 42d st. and 
Fifth ave., such as the Rotherhithe Tunnel in London, and a subway for cars on 42d 
St. and Fifth ave. 

Eleventh : The Committee recommend the principle of excess condemnation 
of land qualifiedly, since they feel that this is feasible in sections of the City where 
land is cheap, but that it is not feasible in crowded sections of the City, where at 



63 

present values of land are enormously high, since in order to make the improve- 
ments pay, it wrould be necessary to have the land increase in value to such an extent 
as vi^ould make it useless for safe and healthy living and working conditions. 

Statement to the Committee by Hon. Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

Mr. Nelson P. Lewis spoke to the Committee on organic defects in the plan of 
New York City. He emphasized the opportunities for constructive work in the 
different Boroughs. The City Charter imposes upon each Borough President the 
authority and duty of preparing a plan for that portion of his Borough which has 
not been completely mapped. The plan of that portion of the Borough of Queens 
formerly known as Long Island City, was, by the Charter, made a part of the 
map or plan of The City of New York, but no other portions of the Borough, such 
as Jamaica, Flushing and the Rockaways, were made a part of the city plan. The 
tendency appears to be to extend the old Long Island City plan in all directions 
over the remainder of the Borough. It has always appeared to me that this was not 
the proper way to undertake the problem, but that the City should first take an 
account of stock, as it were, that is, that the first step in preparing a plan for 
this great undeveloped territory should be to locate the existing highways, cor- 
recting their alignment and widening them where necessary, and supplying such links 
as might be needed to make a more or less complete system of main thoroughfares 
which would cover the entire Borough, after which title should be acquired to the 
land necessary to straighten and widen these streets. It would then be a compara- 
tively simple matter to fill in the details, while at the same time the existing improve- 
ments and layouts where they are in any way suitable could readily be incorporated 
in the city plan without unnecessary destruction of improvements and the impair- 
ment of values. At the same time it would, in my judgment, be wise for the City 
to acquire in most, if not all, of the areas enclosed by these thoroughfares tracts of 
land which could be bought at acreage prices and could be reserved for various 
municipal purposes, such as small parks, sites for schools, libraries, police and fire 
houses, and fire houses, and for all municipal purposes. It would be possible to 
group the subordinate municipal buildings in an effective manner, and it would 
be very desirable if the amount of land purchased were sufficiently large to permit 
the City to sell what is not needed, with the probable result that such sales would 
realize enough to pay not only the cost of the original acquisition of these sites, but 
also of the buildings themselves. 

In reply to a question from Professor Goodnow as to whether it would be a 
better plan to take the matter out of the Borough President's hands and put it in 
the hands of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, Mr. Lewis stated that he was 
not prepared to suggest any change of jurisdiction, and that it would be manifestly 
improper for him to do so. He only intended to point out policies in the planning 
of the new Boroughs which he believed would result in a more attractive city and 
in great economy. 

Attention was called to the fact that in the first Greater New York Charter 
there was concentrated in the Board of Public Improvements this power to com- 
plete the map of the City, and that almost no progress was made during four years. 
Mr. Lewis, however, pointed out that under the first Charter plans made by the 
Board of Public Improvements had to be submitted to and approved by both branches 
of the Municipal Legislature, namely, the Council and the Board of Aldermen, and 
it was this awkward proceeding which made it impossible to accomplish results. 

Mr. Cantor asked whether the Board of Estimate and Apportionment could 
not adopt a plan for the City. In reply, Mr. Lewis stated that the present Charter 
distinctly imposes upon the Borough Presidents the duty of completing a plan 
for each Borough, and while these plans are not official until approved by the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment, it does not appear that the Board has any 
power except that of approval or rejection, and that it is not authorized to take the 
initiative in planning new territory, although it can do so in changing plans already 
adopted. 

One of the great advantages of the adoption of a plan at as early a date as 
possible might be to prevent the erection of buildings within the lines of the pro- 
posed streets, but the courts in this State appear to have decided that the City 
cannot prevent the owner of the property within the street lines from using it in 
any way he sees fit until the City shall itself have taken title to the land, even though 
buildings may be erected within the street lines for the express purpose of selling 
them to the City for more than they are worth. 

In connection with the question of excess condemnation, Mr. Lewis stated that 
The City of New York has not the power at the present time to acquire more 



64 

than the land actually needed to physically carry out any improvement. With- 
out such right it is impossible for the City to adopt the policy so successfully em- 
ployed in Europe of acquiring all of the parcels, portions of which are needed for 
improvements, and selling the surplus land, recouping in this way a large portion 
of the initial expense. The proportion of such expense thus recovered varies greatly, 
but in one case in the City of London, namely, the acquisition and improvement of 
Northumberland ave., the city seems to have made a clear profit of some $200,- 
000. The first steps are taken this year to amend the constitution of the State' 
of New York so that The City of New York might be given this power. If this action 
is confirmed by the Legislature of 1911, the amendment can be submitted to the 
people next year. 



Record of Number of People Entering or Leaving 



Buildings — Addresses and Date. 



During the Day. 
From. To. 


Number. 


Greatest 

During 

From. 


a.m. 

'8.00 
3.15 


p.m. 
2.00 
O.OO 


11.027 


p.m. 
3.15 


8.00 
7.45 
3.45 


6.00 
2.45 
6.00 


10,072 
18,795 


2.00 
l.GO 


8.00 


6.00 


13,861 


1.00 


8.00 


2.00 


7,928 


a.m. 
11.00 


8.00 


2.00 


6,903 


noon. 
12.30 


8.30 


6.00 


12,537 


p.m. 
1.00 


8.30 


6.00 


15,216 


3.00 



Singer Bldg., 149 Broadway, July 30, 1908.. 

The Equitable Bldg., 120 Broadway, July 30, 
1908 

Trust Co. of America, 41 Wall St., July 31, 
1908 

Bowling Green Bldg., 11 Broadway, July 31, 
1908 - 

Mutual Life Building, 32 Nassau St., Aug. 
1, 1908 

Silversmiths Bldg., 13 Maiden Lane, Aug. 1, 
1908 

Broadway-Maiden Lane Bldg., 170 Broad- 
way, Aug. 3, 1908 

National Bank of Commerce, 32 Nassau St., 
Aug. 3, 1908 



67 



Office Buildings in Lower Manhattan. 



Number, 
the Day. 
To. 


Number. 


Greatest Number, 

15 min. 

From. To. 


Number. 


.Average 
per min., 
15 min. 


Average 
per 
day. 


Width 
of Side- 
walk. 


p.m. 

4.15 


2,580 


p.m. 

3.4K 


p.m. 
4.00 


827 


55 


19 


20 


3.00 


1,708 


4.00 


4.15 


517 


35 


17 


17^ 






1.00 


1.15 


1,022 


68 


34 


20 


2.00 


1,763 


11.00 


11.15 


681 


45 


26 


15 


noon. 
12.00 


1,599 


noon. 
12.30 


12.45 


770 


51 


22 


10 


p.m. 
1.30 


1,140 


a.m. 
11.30 


a.m. 
11.45 


520 


35 


19 


10 


p.m. 
2.00 


1,878 


noon. 
12.45 


noon. 
1.00 


556 


37 


22 


20 


4.00 


2,973 


3.15 


3.30 


827 


55 


27 


10 



68 

Estimated Cost of Carrying Out Improvements and Changes in the City Plan 
Recommended by the Mayor's City Improvement Commission. 

Report by Mr. Nelson P. Lewis, Chief Engineer of the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment, to that body September 26, 1907 : 

Manhattan. 
New street extending from the Manhattan terminal of the Man- 
hattan Bridge at the Bowery and Canal st. to the southerly end 

of 6th ave $10,815,000 00- 

Extension of Delancey st, from Lafayette to Broadway 1,668,000 00 

Extension of Madison ave. from 23d st. to 4th ave., at 7th st 5,000,000 00 

Widening 60th st., between 3d and 5th aves., by taking one-half 

block on the southerly side of the street 11,130,000 00- 

New diagonal street, from 57th st. and 3d ave.^ to 59th st. and 2d 

ave 1,185,000 00 

Extension of Riverside Drive southerly to West End ave. and 69th st. 1,595,000 00 

New diagonal street, from 7th ave. and West 142d st. to Walton ave., 

in the Borough of The Bronx 1,445,000 00 

Widening W. 181st st., from Amsterdam ave. to Wadsworth ave 765,000 00 

Addition to park area east of Riverside Drive 5,625,000 00" 

Widening Dyckman st, from 200 feet east of Naegle ave. to B'way 1,725,000 00 

Acquiring the property west of Riverside Drive, north of W\ 155th st., 
including the northerlv end of Fort Washington Hill and Inwood 
Hill, as a public park 7,675,000 00' 

Total $48,628,000 00" 

Brooklyn. 

Bridge st. extension from Fulton st. to 4th ave $3,730,000 00 

Widening of Ashland place 1,460,000 00- 

Extension of Hamilton ave., from 3d to 4th aves 180,000 00 

Extension of Flatbush ave. to Rockaway Inlet 250,000 00' 

New thoroughfare from 4th and Flatbush aves. to Greenpoint at 

Kingsland ave 13,950,000 00' 

New thoroughfare from So. 5th st. and Williamsburgh Bridge Plaza 
to Ralph ave. and Remsen ave., omitting new street between Sum- 
ner ave. and Lewis ave 5,920,000 00' 

Tota! .' $25,490,000 00 

The Bronx. 
Park at the northeasterly end of the Hudson Memorial Viaduct and 

the Hudson River $3,160,000 00' 

Park between Sedgwick and Cedar aves. arid the New York Central 

and Hudson River Railroad Company's tracks 2,230,000 00' 

Total $5,390,000 00> 

''Summarizing the above estimates of cost of acquiring property for the im- 
provements recommended for the Boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn and The Bronx,, 
we find them to be as follows: 

Manhattan $48,628,000 00 

Brooklyn 25,490,000 00 

The Bronx 5,390,000 00 

Total $79,508,000 00 

As already stated, the plan for relieving the situation at the lower end of 6th and' 
7th aves. has not been included in this estimate, but a separate report has been pre- 
pared giving the estimated value of the land required as $7,300,000. If this were added, 
to the above total, it would become $86,808,000 with no provision for anything in the- 
Boroughs of Queens and Richmond. 

The land values have been increasing so that they are at present from 5 per cent- 
to 15 per cent, or over, higher than the amounts given. 



69 

Summary of Replies by Borough Presidents to Information Requested by the 
New York City Commission on Congestion of Population. 

1st. What proportion of the Borough is provided with sewerage disposal sewers? 

Manhattan— Entire Borough, except small portion in the extreme northerly end 
where streets are not laid and few odd blocks. 

The Bronx — ■ 

Brooklyn — Fifty-five per cent. 

Queens — 17.4 per cent. 10,065 acres. 

Richmond — Twenty per cent. 

2d. In your judgment has the lack of such sewers prevented the construction 
■of tenements and other dwellings? 

Manhattan — No. 

The Bronx — t. i n 

Brooklyn— Undoubtedly along the southeasterly portion of the Borough generally. 

Queens— Yes. Particularly in Blissville section of Long Island City and Wood- 
haven. 

Richmond— Building development quite rapidly follows completion of sewers. 
Scarcely in position to reply conclusively, as efforts have been largely to secure con- 
struction of adequate sewers primarily in districts already well built upon, but find 
considerable opposition to proposals for building sewers extensively in localities 
:scantily developed. In many cases assessed land values before development will not 
permit sewer construction under present laws. 

(a) Would you suggest any methods of expediting the provision of sewers? 

Manhattan — As sewers are built for sanitary reasons, and as no building is al- 
lowed to be occupied until it has adequate sewerage, it would seem that the President 
•of the Borough might be clothed with the same authority that the Commissioner of 
Public Works had under the old regime, who was allowed to complete the se^yerage 
■system throughout the city and to alter and improve existing sewers as necessity re- 
quired. No petition was necessary, and the only requirement was that maps, showing 
the proposed work, should be filed before letting contract for same. 

Bronx— Entirely in the hands of the property owners. The only way in which 
this matter can be expedited would be to urge the property owners to petition for 
the construction. 

Brooklyn — Provide the means of opening the streets expeditiously. 
Queens— Construction of sewers could be expedited if Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment would recommend the approval of sewerage systems in isolated sec- 
tions, these systems to be finally incorporated, perhaps with §ome modifications, with 
the scheme for the whole Borough, or by having them approve a system just showing 
the location, size, and grade of the outlet sewer, the sewers for the separate localities 
to be designed as the need develops. 

Richmond 

3. Do you consider it wise to permit streets to be paved before sewers for 
sewerage disposal are constructed or should such sewers be constructed first? 

Manhattan— Unwise to pave streets before sewers are built. 

The Bronx— It is the policy of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment not to 
pave streets until all subsurface structures are in place. 

Brooklyn— Sewers first. 

Queens — Depends upon local conditions. In a district where the sewers can be 
constructed without entailing much hardship on account of assessment, or where rapid 
development would follow the construction of a sewer, the sewer should be built 
before paving the street. In a district in which the immediate construction of a 
sewer is not necessary, or on a street which carries or would carry, if improved, a 
large amount of traffic, it would be much better to put in some pavement which would 
be easily prepared before the sewer is constructed. 

Richmond— In considering a new locality solely, it would certainly be desirable to 
build the permanent sewers before paving the roadways, but, in many portions of 
Richmond, particularly within the old incorporated village, small sewers existed, rend- 
ering a certain amount of service, not adequate, but sufficient for a time ; consequently 
it has seemed desirable to proceed with the paving of permanent pavements, and we 
believe the value to the public has been secured by several years of use before the 
construction of better and more modern sewers became imperative. 

4th. Would you consider it feasible to require that trees should be planted at 
the time streets are paved, the cost thereof to be assessed with the cost of streets, on 
the property benefited? ,..,,. 

Manhattan— Should imagine that tree planting is only feasible in the resident 
streets, and that the growth of trees when the surface of the ground is impervious, 



70 

being caused by pavement and flagging, could not be counted on without great care 
and attention. 

The Bronx — Entirely practicable to plant trees even at the time that streets are 
regulated and graded, which is frequently a number of years before they are paved. 
Do not know if this cost could be legally assessed on property benefited — probably not. 

Brooklyn — 

Queens— Trees should be planted as soon as possible when the street is graded, 
or if the cut or fill of the street is very slight before grading. 

Richmond — Should be planted by the Department of Parks, and be maintained 
by it without local assessment. If property owners desire to plant trees in advance of 
the official establishment of grades such should be optional, but no complaint should 
be made at their loss or the necessity of changing them when a full street improve- 
ment became necessary. 

What Would Be the Floor Space Available in Manhattan Below Chambers Street 
If All the Available Area Would Be Built Up With 15, 20 and 25-Story Buildings? 

Note. — The Building Code requires 10 per cent, vacant on street lots. As the 
corner lots represent only a small part of the total (not over 5 per cent.), this is 
simplified by the more conservative assumption that all lots require 20 per cent, vacant. 

Deducting from grand total area : Streets, parks, cemeteries, open spaces, churches 
and Brooklyn Bridge piers, of a total of 7,610,555 square feet, we find an available 
gross area of 9,275,000 square feet. Deducting further 20 per cent., 1,853,000 square 
feet, we find : 

Available net area 7,420,000 square feet. 

Assuming a factor of rentability of 0.65 for 15-story building. 

Assuming a factor of rentability of 0.625 for 20-story building. 

Assuming a factor of rentability of 0.60 for 25-story building. 

We find available floor space : 

If 15-story buildings were constructed 72,350,000 square feet. 

If 20-story buildings were constructed 92,750,000 square feet. 

If 25-story buildings were constructed 111,300,000 square feet. 

(Signed) WM. A. RUSSEL. 
Rentable Store Floor Space Below Chambers Street. 

Square Feet. 

Below Cortlandt street, east of Broadway 1 ,760,999 

Below Cortlandt street and Maiden lane, west of Broadway 3,108,020 

Between Cortlandt and Chambers streets, east of Broadway... 3,444,881 

Between Maiden lane and New Chambers street 4,768,012 

Grand total 13,081,912 

Number of Square Feet of Rentable Office Floor Space Below Chambers Street, 

July 1, 1908. 

In Buildings Per 

of Stories. Cent. 

1 to 6 3,176.410 square ft., assuming 75 per cent, of floor space rentable, 22.305 

7 to 10 2,807,082.80 square ft., assuming 70 per cent, of floor space rentable, 19.711 

11 to 15 3,229,582.35 square ft., assuming 65 per cent, of floor space rentable, 22.678 

16 to 20 1,688,862.25 square ft., assuming 62.5 per cent, of floor space rentable, 11.859 

Over 20 3,338,568 square ft., assuming 60 per cent, of floor space rentable, 23.444 

14.240.505.40 lOO.OO 

Office space was provided for 129,459.14 tenants (allowing 110 square feet for 
each occupant) in this district. 

Number of Square Feet of Rentable Factory Floor Space Below Chambers Street, 

July. 1908. 

^— - 

In Stories. Cent. 

1 to 6 6,382,995 square ft., assuming 90 per cent, of entire floor space, 79..54 

7 to 10 1,133.321.25 square ft., assuming 85 per cent, of entire floor space. 14.12 

11 to IS 512,228.50 square ft., assuming 80 per cent, of entire floor space, 6.39 

8.028.544.75 100 00 



71 



286,733.75 persons, for whom floor space is provided in factories, allowing 28 
square feet for each occupant. 

1908 Classification of Manhattan Below Chambers St. 



Square Feet. 



Per Cent. 



9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 



Offices 

Public buildings 

Factories 

Stores 

Tenements 

Churches 

Brooklyn Bridge piers . 
Miscellaneous buildings 

Built upon 

Vacant lots 

Courts and yards 

Cemeteries 

Parks 

Open spaces 

Streets 

Not built upon . . . . 



2,509,214 

373,995 

1,858,954 

3.485,702 

341,602 

36,384 

126,609 

93,071 



523,505 
137,903 

1,284,014 
18,744 

6,007.001 



8,825,531 



14.9 
2.2 

11 

20.7 
2 

0.2 
0.8 
0.5 

0.5 
3.1 
0.8 
7.6 
0.1 
35.6 



52.3 



8,062,843 



47.7 



Total area below Chambers 


St. 


16,885,606 100 


Classification of Area Occupied 


By Buildings 
Chambers St. 


in Section of Manhattan Below 


Square Feet. Per Cent. 



Offices 

Public buildings 

Factories 

Stores 

Tenements 

Churches 

Brooklyn Bridge piers 
Miscellaneous buildings 



2,509,214 


28.5 


373,995 


4.2 


1,858.954 


21 


3,485.702 


39.5 


341.602 


3.9 


36,384 


0.4 


126,609 


1.4 


93,071 


1.1 





Total buildings. 


areas 


built 


upon 






8,825,531 100 




Classification 


Area 


Not 


Occupied 


By Buildings 
Chambers St. 


in 


Section 


of Manhattan Be 


ow 




















Square 
Feet. 


Per 
Cent. 





9. Vacant lots 



10. Courts and yards 

1 1 . Cemeteries 

12. Parks 

13. Open spaces near Brooklyn Bridge. 

14. Streets 



88.908 

523..cn5 
137.903 

1,284,014 
18.744 

6,007.001 



Total area not built upon 8,060,075 



1.1 


can 


be 




built 


upon 


6.5 






1.7 






16 






0.2 






74.5 
00 







72 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRANSIT, DOCKS AND FERRIES, 
MR. GILBERT ELLIOTT, CHAIRMAN. 

Many of the speakers before the various commitees of the Commission, of which 
the members of the Transit Committee are members, as well as those before the 
Committee on Transit, Docks and Ferries, emphasized the necessity of distributing 
factories as a means of distributing- population and eliminating the cost of transit in 
the cost of production. The Committee recognizes the validity of these statements 
and arguments. They appreciate also the fact that methods of carrying freight must 
be provided. 

The Committee believes that some of the important points to be observed in the 
plans for rapid transit to prevent congestion of population are as follows : 

First : Transit lines must not parallel nearby already congested transit lines. 

Second : Transit Hnes which radiate bring into the market more land for the 
same expense than transit lines which are parallel and close together. 

Third : Expensive transit lines are apt to produce congestion of population, be- 
cause of the large earnings necessary to make them pay, which stimulates the con- 
struction of large tenements, whose population inevitably congests the lines of transit. 

Fourth : Transit lines must be constructed simultaneously in sufficient directions 
to prevent undue increases of land values which will follow if but one line is con- 
structed at a time, as, for example, the Washington Heights neighborhood in Man- 
hattan, where the limited number of lots near the subway brought such high prices 
that large buildings had to be constructed. 

Fifth : Cheap lines of transit must be constructed in sparsely settled districts. 

Sixth: Cheap lines of transit must be constructed in the newer districts before 
they can be made self sustaining to encourage population to move there. The provi- 
sion for transit in New York City has always been from five to ten years behind the 
need, because the City has had no power to compel the construction of extensions, and 
the private companies would not do so until a profit was assured. 

Methods Which Other American Cities Are Adopting to Secure Extensions to 

Their Transit Lines. 

Under the terms of the franchise granted the International Railway Company by 
the City of Buffalo, on December, 1905, for Fillmore avenue, the grant is made for 
the period of only 25 years from date of its acceptance unless extended for a further 
period, and does not become operative until the company files with the City Clerk a 
written acceptance of all the terms and conditions thereof, expressly waiving any and 
all objections as to the reasonableness or legality of any of the provisions of same 
or as to the legal right or authority of the city to impose the same. At least sixty 
days before the expiration of the grant the Common Council is required to notify 
the railway company whether the City will take over the railway, and arrangements 
are made by which three appraisers, one to be selected by the railway company, one 
by the City and the third to be selected by the two, shall appraise the value of the 
property, similar provisions being made for the prices to be paid by another company 
for the line if the International Railway Company does not wish to continue the 
operation. 

IndianapoUs — The franchise of the Indianapolis Street Railway Company, ap- 
proved April 8, 1899, also provides that when it appears to the Board of Public Works 
that the City, from different ca^uses, or the public interests demand the extension of 
any line of the street railway already in operation or the construction of a new line 
in and upon any streets, alleys, avenues or public places of said city, that the said 
Board of Public Works shall cause written notice to be given to the President, 
Secretary, General Manager or Superintendent of the company, requiring them to 
appear before the Board on a certain day, to be named in said notice, not less than 
five days after the service of such notice, and show cause why the proposed extension 
should not be made or such proposed new Hnes should not be constructed. This 
notice has to contain a description of the streets, alleys, etc., for which the extension 
is proposed to be constructed. If after due hearing it appears to the Board that the 
public interest requires such extension to be made, it is authorized to make an order 
requiring such extension, and in such order shall fix the time in which the said exten- 
sion shall be made or new lines shall be constructed, but the period is so fixed that 
it shall always be of sufficient length to permit the company, by the exercise of rea- 
sonable diligence, to make such extensions or construct such lines within the time. 
The written notice must be given by the Board of Public Works to the company of 
such order, and should they fail to make such extension or construct such new lines 
within the time fixed, they must forfeit to the city the sum of $50 for each day that 
the completion of such extension or construction of such new lines is delayed beyond 



the date fixed. This is part of the franchise of the Indianapolis Street Railway Com- 
• pany, and it is assumed that the company will make a fair profit on the extensions. 

Minneapolis— Similar authority is contained in the franchise of the Minneapolis 
Street Railway Company, granted July 17, 1875, and in case the company fails or 
neglects at any time to keep in operation any line or railway which it may have con- 
structed, then, upon reasonable notice, the City Council may forfeit the exclusive 
rights granted, so far as it pertains to such neglected line. The City of Minneapolis 
has authority also to require the joint use of portions of the track belonging to the 
Minneapolis Street Railway Company of any other street railway company which 
the Council may charter under terms of the ordinance, to connect with and jointly 
use such portions of the tracks belonging to each, as the convenience of, the traveling 
public' may require. 

Columbus — The City of Columbus requires the Columbus Street Railway Com- 
pany, by an ordinance of February 6, 1901. to expend during the life of the grant 
(25 years) not less than $1,000,000 in extensions and betterments, and they may by 
ordinance require such reasonable extensions of such of the lines operated by the 
company as m.ay be necessary for the efficient operations of the railway and for the 
convenience of the public whenever along the line of any such proposed extension 
and between parallel lines 400 feet distant on each side thereof, there shall be, if 
such extension is ordered, not less than 150 separate buildings used and occupied 
as dwellings per mile, pr in like proportion for any less distance, although the com- 
pany must not be required to construct more than one mile of extension in one cal- 
endar year. The franchise rights expire at the end of 25 years. 

Chicago — Extract from Chicago City Railway ordinance of February 11, 1907: 

"Sectioii 3. The said City shall have the right, subject to the limitations con- 
tained in this ordinance, at any time to require the Company to make extensions of 
and additions to the lines of street railways enumerated in said 'Exhibit A.' Such 
extensions and additions shall be made under the supervision of the Board of Super- 
vising Engineers, as hereinafter in Section 7 provided, and the cost thereof shall be 
determined as provided in said section. The character and quality of such work shall 
comply with the specifications set forth in said 'Exhibit B,' so far as the same may 
be applicable thereto. 

"The Cornpany shall, however, upon the order of the City Council of the City, 
■construct, equip and operate such extensions of its street railway system in addition 
to those hereinabove provided for as may be required by the City Council, subject to 
the conditions and limitations contained in Section 25 of this ordinance." 

The Committee, after a careful study of the conditions of transit in New York 
City, including the franchise system, the operating system and the system of fares 
and the unused capacity of present facilities, as well as suggestions submitted to 
them regarding the general lines of future development, make the following report 
and recommendations : 

First : A comprehensive transit system is essential for uniform and universal 
transfers and unified operation. The Committee do not feel that it is necessary for 
thern to go into discussion as to the need for a universal transfer between points 
within a comparatively short distance. It is perfectly true that the horrors of con- 
gestion of population have been amply demonstrated, that the increasing congestion 
of population has been deplored, but one of the fundamental causes of congestion of 
population, many witnesses before the Transit Committee have emphasized, is the 
inability of the people to pay more than one fare. An extra fare for the working 
man for three hundred (300) working days means a net total of $30 per person. This 
will pay, in many sections of the City, for an additional room which the family needs 
for their living purposes. At present each borough is practically a five-cent zone, 
but interborough travel is voluminous and will be constantly increasing. 

Second : The subways and the elevated roads furnish the key to an urban tran- 
sit system. The control of these expensive links will, sooner or later, bring complete 
control of all street railway transit facilities. It appears, from a careful examination 
of the general transit situation, that the following points are essential in any ade- 
quate program for the transit development in New York City: (a) The existing 
perpetual franchises should be terminated, as opportunity offers, some by forfeiture, 
where through neglect or non-compliance with the law they should be forfeited; 
others through condemnation or through purchase .or negotiation, substituting modern 
short term or indeterminate franchises for the present franchises, (b) Extensions of 
the existing subway system of the City should be planned so as to utilize to their 
capacity the subways, bridges and elevated railroads already constructed, and so as to 
bring the people from the outlying portions directly into and through the principal 
business districts, with quick service, for a single fare. The advantages of municipal 
ownership of all transit lines to accomplish this is evident. It will enable the City to 



74 

adapt the transit lines of the entire City to the purpose of transit lines, viz., to dis- 
tribute population through the City. In order to do this, lines must run into districts 
where land is cheap, and while some lines may not pay a money profit at first, they 
will be extremely profitable from the point of view of conserving the general welfare 
and prosperity of the citizens and in developing the City. This is a matter in which 
the City as a whole is deeply interested. 

Third : The Committee recommends that lines be extended at once into the out- 
lying boroughs and especially radiating lines, so as to make much land available for 
dwellings. As has been stated before the Committee, one transit line parallel and 
near to another congested line is almost certain to produce congestion of population 
under present building laws. The Committee, however, would call attention to the 
fact that these lines into other boroughs need not necessarily be subways, which are 
extremely expensive, but elevated lines, suspended, depressed or surface lines, all of 
which can be constructed for a small part of the cost of subways. When a large in- 
vestment is put into a transit line, the earnings of this line must be proportionately 
heavy or even a fair return cannot be paid on the investment, and it is much more 
economical to have several cheaply constructed lines in many directions, each carrying 
relatively few passengers, than to have one expensive line carrying a mass of passen- 
gers, since the multiplication of lines tends to keep land cheap, an essential to the pre- 
vention of congestion. 

Fourth : The Committee recommends that the City take necessary steps to inauce 
more of its population to move to boroughs where there are large amounts of vacant 
land not now accessible; that the Interborough Rapid Transit Company be requested 
to extend the lines which it is understood it is about to project to the Queens side of 
the Queensboro Bridge and through the Steinway Tunnel, into several portions of 
the Borough of Queens, and that if this cannot be done the franchise for the bridge 
and tunnel should provide for the operation for one fare of extensions to be built into 
the Borough of Queens. We believe that some subway should be constructed as early 
as possible into the Borough of Richmond, to provide rapid transit for its extensive 
area, and that pending the completion of such a tunnel, forty tickets should be sold 
for $1 on the Municipal Ferry to Richmond, to enable people of small or moderate 
means to live there. These recommendations we make because of the immense in- 
vestments which the City has made in its bridges across the East River and the Harlem 
River for the benefit of all other boroughs, and as an essential means of developing 
the Borough of Richmond. 

Fifth : The Committee endorses the principle of ownership by the City of lines- 
of transit, not solely upon the relative merits of ownership by private capital and by 
the City, but because transit is primarily a public question and necessary to prevent 
congestion, and the City can afford to invest money in transit lines because of the 
great advantages to be derived by the City, and for the comfort and necessity of the 
people. 

Sixth: The Committee believes that essential as is the construction of rapid tran- 
sit to connect the residence and the tenement sections with manufacturing centres, 
that transit and its cost is, in spite of all arguments to the contrary, a waste in the 
cost of production that can be, in large measure, eliminated. 

Seventh : The Committee recommends that the Rapid Transi Law be so amended 
as to confer upon the Public Service Commission and the City authorities the same 
powers with respect to surface lines as they now have with respect to rapid transit 
lines. 

Eighth : The Committee recommends that, as a means of reducing the expendi- 
ture for carfare, measures should be taken to discourage the location of more fac- 
tories in Manhattan, and to encourage the distribution of factories now located in that 
borough. 

Ninth : The Committee recommends that the City develop, for factory purposes, 
the waterfronts in all of the boroughs which it owns and is adapted for this purpose. 

Tenth : The Committee recommends restricting the height and volume of build- 
ings. The Committee realizes that no transit system has yet been devised, even in 
cities more advantageously situated and without the natural barriers to transit 
which the rivers around Manhattan constitute, to carry economically and effectively 
the masses of population which live, or will live, within a radius of 20 miles, to work 
in a city like Manhattan with a flat level of 25, 20 and even 15-story buildings. It 
has been am.ply demonstrated that the low-waged working population cannot Live in 
Manhattan in the sort of houses which the American workingman should have, and 
it is self-evident that to increase the height of buildings in the City by one and two 
stories a year, or by the continuous construction of skyscrapers of enormous volume, 
from 16 to 46 stories in height, will require forms of transit which are absolutely 
uneconomical, and a waste of money, time and strength. 



75 

Eleventh : The Committee has given considerable attention to the proposition to 
construct an elevated freight line along the marginal way adjoining the Hudson 
River, with huge freight terminals and warehouses, with room for factories on the 
upper floors. The elevated railway might appeal to us if the interest and the oper- 
ating expenses can be made by the saving in the handling of the freight. This should 
be carefully safeguarded, so that the use of these lines will be open to all railroad 
companies. We do not object to the terminals and possibly the storage warehouses, 
but we believe that the huge factories proposed would attract to the localities such 
an enormous number of workers as to cause a congestion in the neighborhood which 
would be worse than the freight congestion now objected to. We believe it ought to 
be possible to establish lines for the handling of freight throughout the City, so as 
to distribute factories in many sections. These might be partly elevated and partly 
subway. Pending such construction, we suggest the possibility of using some of the 
present transit lines for the carriage of freight between twelve at night and six o'clock 
in the morning, when the passenger traffic is very light. If freight distributing lines 
are found to be too expensive, the City might well secure small tracts of land on the 
waterfront throughout the City and provide opportunity for car floats to dock at 
several points, and so dim.inish the congestion at any single point and avoid the cost 
of a huge freight terminal. 

Memorandum in Regard to Transit Facilities and Policies of New York Cit\ 
WITH Reference to Distribution of Population. 

1. Franchise System. 

All transit franchises granted either by the Legislature or by the local authorities, 
within the present limits of Greater New York, prior to the enactment of the Greater 
New York Charter in 1897, were unlimited as to term, and therefore perpetual, as 
determined by the Court of Appeals in the case of People v. O'Brien, 111 N. Y., 1, 
and other cases. These old perpetual grants cover the entire transit system of the 
City, with the following exceptions : 

(a) The subway, constructed on the City's credit and equipped with private capi- 
tal under operating leases, known as Contract No. 1 and Contract No. 2. Contract 
No. 1 covers the portion of the subway north of City Hall Park and extends for a 
period of fifty years from October 27, 1904, with the right of renewal for twenty-five 
years more at a revaluation. Contract No. 2 covers the portion of the subway south 
of City Hall Park in Manhattan and extends to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn. This 
contract runs for a period of thirty-five years from May 1, 1908, with the right of 
renewal for twentj'-five years more upon a revaluation. 

(b) The McAdoo and Pennsylvania tunnels, whose franchises are perpetual, sub- 
ject to a revaluation at the end of twenty-five years, and subject, so far as the McAdoo 
extensions north of Christopher st. are concerned, to purchase by the City after 
twenty-five years, on certain conditions. 

(c) Street railway franchises granted by the City since consolidation, including 
the Kingsbridge Railway franchise on upper Broadway; the New York City Interbor- 
ough Railway franchise, m The Bronx; certain extensions of the Union Railway Com- 
pany's system, in The Bronx ; two extensions of the Bronx Traction Company's 
system, in the Bronx; one small extension of the New York and Queens County Rail- 
way, in Queens; the New York and North Shore Traction franchise, in Queens; The 
South Shore Traction franchise, in Queens ; the New York and Long Island Traction 
franchise, in Queens ; one Ocean Electric Railway extension, in Queens ; the Livingston 
and Lafayette sts. extension of the Nassau Electric Railroad, in Brooklyn ; the Bush 
Terminal Railroad franchise, in Brooklyn, and a few unimportant extensions and 
connections at various points in the City. 

These franchises are limited under the charter to an original period of twenty- 
five years, with a renewal of twenty-five years more at a revaluation, but some of 
them have been granted for shorter periods. All, or nearly all, of these franchises 
provide that at their final expiration the tracks and other fixtures within street lines 
shall revert to and become the property of the City without cost. 

(d) Rights to the use of certain bridges over the East and Harlem Rivers and 
other streams, granted originally by the Bridge Trustees, the Bridge Department, the 
Board of Estimate or other City authority. Most of these grants are for short terms 
or are terminable at the pleasure of the City. The tracks on the bridges are, for the 
most part, owned by the City. 

Omitting the 73 miles of operated track in the City-owned subway and the 22 
miles of City-owned surface and elevated tracks operated on the bridges, the relative 
importance of perpetual and limited term franchises in the City is shown by the fact 
that out of a total of 1,200 miles of single operated street railway track (surface,. 



76 

underground and elevated), approximately 1,150 miles are operated under perpetual 
franchises, and only about 50 miles under limited franchises. 

It should also be noted that there are outstanding perpetual franchises thus far 
unused on about four hundred different streets in the Greater City, with a route 
mileage of over 200 miles. The status of many of these franchises is quite uncertain. 
The confusion in the Railroad Law is such that it is almost impossible to determine 
whether or not a franchise has been forfeited until the court of last resort has issued 
its hnal decree in each particular case. 

As the law nov/ stands, future franchise grants will differ in material respects 
from the majority of those now in force. The only strictly perpetual, franchises that 
may be granted are for trunk line railroads. Under the Rapid Transit Act, the 
Public Service Commission, with the approval of the Board of Estimate, may grant 
franchises for subways and elevated roads, including third tracking and conjnections. 
on the indeterminate basis, reserving to the City the right to terminate the grants and 
take over the property at any time after the expiration of ten years upon payment of a 
price that shall not exceed the cost of construction and equipment, plus a 15 per cent, 
bonus. Moreover, these franchises must provide for a gradually diminishing purchase 
price in case the termination is delayed, so that at the end of a period to be fixed in 
each franchise, the plant itself will revert to the City without cost, and the equipmeni 
will be purchased at an appraised valuation. It should be noted that franchises for 
additional tracks and connections of existing rapid transit roads may be unlirnited as 
to term, subject to the right of the City to purchase, and subject to the requirem'ent 
that some definite date must be estabUshed when the plant and structures, other than 
equipment, may be taken over by the City without payment. ; 

Street surface franchises, which are granted by the Board of Estirnate and Ap- 
portionment, are Hmited to twenty-five years for the original period, with a possible 
renewal of twenty-five years. The charter is interpreted by the Board of Estimate 
as requiring that each franchise shall provide for the reversion of the property 
within the street limits at the end of the grant without cost to the City, but it is 
doubtful whether the charter is mandatory on this point. 

2. The System of Fares. 

Generally speaking, each operating street railway company charges a nve-cent 
fare, with free transfers over its own lines, whether operated under lease or other- 
wise. The law requires that where two companies enter into voluntary agreements 
for the common use of tracks, they shall exchange free transfers, unless relieved 
from this requirement by the Public Service Commission. This requirement, how- 
ever, does not apply to the joint use of tracks not established by voluntary agreement, 
hut required under the 1,000-foot provision of the Railroad Law or other statutes. _ 

Roughly speaking, each borough is a five-cent fare zone on the street surface rail- 
ways. It is possible to ride from the post office to Kingsbridge, or from the Battery 
to 155th St., or from the Hudson River to the East River, in the Borough of Man- 
hattan, for a nickel. It is not possible, however, to ride from any one point to any 
other in that borough for a single fare, because there are different operating systems 
which do not interchange transfers. In The Bronx one may ride from the Harlem 
River at Third ave. to the city line of Mount Vernon or Yonkers, or from tht Harlem 
River at Washington Bridge to Westchester Creek, for a single fare. It is not yet 
posible to reach Pelham Bay Park for one fare. 

The fare system of Brooklyn and Queens is a little more complex. On certain 
lines one may ride from the Brooklyn Bridge or the Williamsburg Bridge to Jackson 
ave., Corona Heights and Jamaica, in the Borough of Queens, for five cents, while, 
on the other hand, to go to Coney Island on the surface lines requires a double fare. 
"The various Coney Island surface lines are each operated by two companies, an im- 
aginary transfer of cars and passengers heing effected at various points in the south- 
ern part of the Borough of Brooklyn, so that an extra fare can be collected. The 
Brooklyn Heights Railroad Company, though operating its cars from the East River 
through Brooklyn and Queens to North Beach and Flushing, is enabled under its old 
underlying franchises to charge a double fare to each of these points. 

Passing over the fare system on the Brooklyn Rapid Transit lines, a person may 
ride for a single fare from the Queensboro Bridge to North Beach, Flushing and 
Jamaica, but a double fare is required for reaching Whitestone, Bayside or points 
south or east of Jamaica. Indeed, to travel from, the Queensboro Bridge to Rockawa}; 
Beach by trolley involves an excursion through Nassau County and the payment of 
three separate fares. . . v. n tt i 

In Richmond a person may ride from St. George to Ehzabethport, Bulls Heaa, 
Village of Richmond, Midland Beach or Fort Wadsworth for a five-cent fare. Trans 
fers are exchanged to a limited extent. The distance from St. George to the village 
•of Richmond is only about one-half the length of the island. 



n 



On the elevated lines in Manhattan and the Bronx a uniform five-cent fare, with 
transfer, is granted, enabling one to travel from South Ferry to Bedford Park for a 
single fare. The Manhattan Railway Company is entitled, however, under its^fran- 
chise, to charge a higher fare, but the live-cent rate has been in use since 1886, and 
the establishment of a different rate with the zone system and special low fare trains 
during the rush hours, as contemplated by the franchises, would be so inconvenient 
in operation that the five-cent rate may be regarded as safely estabhshed for the future. 

The Brooklyn elevated lines also charge a uniform five-cent rate, with free trans- 
fers, subject to the quaUfications that persons traveling to Coney Island on elevated 
trains which use in part the tracks and franchises of old steam rioads are charged ten 
cents. It should also be noted that at certain points free transfers are exchanged 
I'rom the elevated system to surface lines, even though not required by law. 

On the subway, a person can ride from Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn, to Van Cort- 
landt Park or to Bronx Park, in The Bronx for a single tare. At the intersection 
of the subway and the Third Avenue Elevated Line in The Bronx free transfers are 
exchanged. Certain transfers at one or two points with surface lines in upper Man- 
hattan and The Bronx are given for three cents. , . ^ • i j i. 

An important part of the transit facilities m all five boroughs is furnished by 
the steam roads, which are entitled under the law to charge, with one unimportant 
e::ception, a mileage rate of three cents. As a matter of fact, however, these roads 
offer reduced and commutation rates, which, in a few cases for short hauls, approxi- 
mate a five-cent fare. 

3. Operating Systems. . 

The subway, which serves Manhattan and The Bronx, with one short extension 
into the business district of Brooklyn, is operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit 
Company, under contracts with the City, already briefly described. This company 
also operates the entire elevated railroad system of Manhattan and The Bronx, under 
a 999-year lease from the Manhattan Railway Company. This system includes the 
Second, Third, Sixth and Ninth avenue lines, furnishing three parallel lines for the 
full length of the Island of Manhattan, one additional line from the Battery to 
59th St "and one line into The Bronx as far as Bedford Park. The Interborough 
Rapid Transit Company also controls, through stock ownership, the New York City 
Interborough Railway Company, which operates a system of street railways as yet 
only partly constructed, furnishing crosstown service in The Bronx, with a connec- 
tion to the subway at Broadway and 181st st. in Manhattan. The Interborough 
Company also controls the City Island Railroad Company and the Pelham Park Rail- 
road Compan}^ which are now experimenting with monorail operation m Pelham 
Bay Park and City Island. The Interborough Company also controls, through stock 
ownership the New York and Queens County Railway Company, operating m Long- 
Island City, Woodside, Winfield, Elmhurst, Corona, Maspeth, College _ Point and 
Flushing with the termini of its various lines at North Beach, College Point, Jamaica 
and the^Lutheran Cemetery. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company also has joint 
control with the Long Island Railroad Company over the New York and Long Island 
Traction Comp?ny and the Long Island Electric Railway Company, which serve that 
portion of the Borough of Queens lying south of Fulton street and extending from 
the borough line at Liberty avenue, through Jamaica and south of Jamaica to Nassau 
County, re-entering the City again in Far Rockaway. It can be seen, therefore that 
the Interborough Rapid Transit Company has substantially complete control of the 
urban rapid transit facilities in old New York, with an entrance into Brooklyn, and 
■substantial control of the street surface railway systems of Queens and partial control 
of the street surface systems of The Bronx. The gross revenues of the Interborough 
Rapid Transit Company and the companies controlled by it for the year ending June 
30, 1910. amounted to $30,785,599, or 38.76 per cent, of the entire street railway rev- 
enues of the Greater City. , r , t i. l 

The operating system next in importance to that of the Interborough company is 
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit system, which binds together under common control 
seven operating companies, besides a number of leased companies. This system^ in- 
cludes the entire elevated railroad service of Brooklyn, with one extension into 
Queens and two entrances into Manhattan, over the WiUiamsburgh and Brooklyn 
bridged and substantially the entire street railway system of Brooklyn, with the 
exception of the Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad, and has important extensions 
into the Borough of Queens through Richmond Hill and Middle Village to Jamaica 
and throu<^h Ma<=peth, Elmhurst and Corona to North Beach and Flushing. The gross 
revenues of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit system for the year ending June 30, 1910, 
amounted to $21,348,498, or 26.88 per cent, of the entire street railway revenues of 

the Greater City. . r r ^ ^ -i 

Prior to the upheaval of 1907 the entire system of surface street railways in 



78 

Manhattan and the Bronx had been linked up with the Interborough Rapid Transit 
Company, through the stock ownership of the Metropolitan Street Railway _ Company, 
and the Metropolitan Securities Company by the interborough-Metropolitan Com- 
pany, which also owns the stock of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. With 
the appointment of the receivers in the fall of 1907, however, the active control of the 
big surface street railway systems of Manhattan and The Bronx went into _ other 
hands, and the systems themselves began to fall apart. The surface street railways 
of Manhattan and The Bronx are now divided between two principal systems and 
a number of more or less detached lines. The Metropolitan Street Railway system 
now includes lines owned or leased, which pretty well gridiron the Island of Man- 
hattan as far north as 155th street. This system is a more or less m.otley combination 
of electric and horse car lines, pieced together by ownership, by leases having various 
terms to run, and by operating agreements. The gross revenues of this system for 
the year ending June 30, 1910, amounted to $13,217,117, or 16.64 per cent, of the total 
street railway revenues of the City. 

The other important operating system of street surface railways in Manhattan 
and The Bronx is the Third Avenue System, which consists of the Third Avenue 
Railroad proper, the Kingsbridge Railway, the Dry Dock. East Broadway and 
Battery Railroad, and the 42nd Street, Manhattanville and St. Nicholas Avenue Rail- 
way in the Borough of Manhattan, and the Union Railway of New York City, the 
Southern Boulevard Railroad, The Bronx Traction lines, and portions of the West- 
chester Electric Railroad and the Yonkers Railroad in The Bronx, together with the 
remainder of the Westchester Electric Railroad and the Yonkers Railroad in West- 
chester County. This system includes seven operating companies, besides two com- 
panies whose Hnes are operated under trackage agreements. The total revenues of the 
Third Avenue System for the year ending June 30, 1910, amounted to $8,061,704, or 
10.15 per cent, of the entire street railway revenues of the Greater City. 

There are all told 33 companies operating street surface or rapid transit 
railroads in the City, in addition to six steam roads, one freight road with a 
street railway franchise, and two short electric roads operating as summer lines. Of 
the 33 street and rapid transit railway companies, 22 are accounted for in the four big 
systems already described. There remain the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Com- 
pany, operating the McAdoo tunnels; the Second Avenue Railroad Company, the 
28th and 29th Streets Crosstown Railroad Company, the Central Park, North and East 
River Railroad Company, the South Shore Traction Company, the Ne^y York and 
North Shore Traction Company, the Ocean Electric Railway Company, the Coney 
Island and Brooklyn Railroad Company, the Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Rail- 
road Company, the Richmond Light and Railroad Company and the Staten Island 
Midland Railway Company. The total revenues of these miscellaneous street railway 
companies for the year ending June 30, 1910, amounted to $6,007,992, or 7.57 per cent. 
of the total street railway earnings of railroad companies of the Greater City. 

The steam roads referred to are the New York Central and Hudson River Rail- 
road Company, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, the 
Long Island Railroad Company, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the Staten 
Island Rapid Transit Railway Company, and the Staten Island Railway Company. 
The freight road with a street railway franchise is the Bush Terminal Railroad, and 
the two summer lines are the Marine Railway and the Southfield Beach Railroad. It 
should be noted that in addition to the companies already listed, the Third Avenue 
Bridge Company has received a franchise to connect the Third ave. line with the 
Borough of Queens by way of the Queensboro Bridge, and the East River Terminal 
Railroad and the Jay Street Connecting Railroad have received franchises crossing 
streets in Brooklyn. Besides these, the Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line and the 
New York Dock Railway are all seeking rights from the City. 

4. Unused Capacity of Present Facilities. 

One of the most striking facts coming to light on an examination of the transit 
systems of New York in actual operation, is the enormous waste of time, capital and 
convenience arising from the confusion and choking of transit facilities at various 
points. The transit systems of the City have grown up haphazard, and instead ol 
being uniform under one general franchise or a general franchise for each of 
three or four great systems, each system is operated under a multitude of old grants 
having no particular relation to each other and not providing for adequate unification 
and development of facilities. 

The bad results of this condition of affairs are well illustrated by the fact that 
for ten years or more from twenty to thirty miles of horse-car tracks have remained 
in the streets of the City practically unused, and in many cases in such wretched 
condition as to make street traffic dangerous. These rails have remained in the 



79 

streets under perpetual franchises, and the City authorities have not dared to pull 
them up, except in a few cases in connection with repaying. It seems ridiculous that 
ten years should pass in the greatest city of America without public authorities be- 
ing able to remove abandoned street-car tracks from the street. It is ridiculous. A 
franchise system that leaves the City in this helpless condition should not be tol- 
erated for a year. Attention is also called to the fact that on the Island of Man- 
hattan there are still over forty miles of antiquated horse-car tracks in actual opera- 
tion. This fact alone should make New York the laughing stock of the civilized 
world. 

It has been estimated that a scientific re-routing of the surface car lines of 
Manhattan, without reference to divergent ownership of franchises', and assuming 
that existing horse-car tracks could be electrified and short stretches of new franchise 
acquired for the development of the lines, would practically treble the capacity of 
the present surface street railway facilities north and south on Manhattan island. 
The routes as now arranged are patched up by the different operating companies 
on the basis of old competing franchises, and no one in authority, either in the 
City government or in the street railway business, has made any consistent effort 
to eliminate this waste and reduce the surface car operation to a scientific system. 
The City has expended $80,000,000 or more in the construction of four bridges 
across the East River. One of these, the Brooklyn Bridge, has undoubtedly paid 
for itself in its use for transportation purposes. But even this bridge, overloaded as 
it already is, has had its usefulness considerably limited by the senseless plan of 
dumping both surface and elevated passengers all in one place at Park Row, and 
of picking them up again at the rush hour at night under conditions of the most 
barbarous and indecent crowding. Traffic conditions at the Park Row end of the 
bridge have for many years been a standing disgrace to the City. Some excuse 
may be made for the original development of these conditions, on the ground that 
the bridge was constructed at a time when New York and Brooklyn were separate 
cities and were not in a position to co-operate in the development of through transit 
facilities on scientific lines. 

When we come to the Williamsburgh Bridge, however, and find that the same 
conditions are repeated, with the exception that underground terminals are provided 
for surface cars at the New York end of the bridge, and that an extra set of tracks 
enables New York cars to cross the bridge to the Brooklyn plaza, it seems almost a 
criminal waste of public money. This bridge, although it was constructed to sup- 
port six tracks as against four on the Brooklyn Bridge, and although it has been in 
operation for six years, now carries less than 70 per cent as many passengers. This is 
due in large measure to the fact that no facilities have been provided for bringing 
Brooklyn cars that use the Williamsburgh Bridge into and through the business dis- 
tricts of Manhattan, where the people want to get off. 

The Queensboro Bridge, opened less than two years ago, is an extraordinary 
monument to the inadequate and disjointed plans of the City with reference to 
transit facilities. After the construction of the bridge was commenced, the City 
approved the location of Sunnyside Yard, lying diagonally athwart the Queens 
entrance to the bridge. The bridge stands there, without any adequate plans having 
yet been made for its use, although its builders undoubtedly had the vague purpose 
of opening up the Borough of Queens, with its wide-stretching areas of comparatively 
cheap land, to the swarming millions of Manhattan. 

Finally, the Manhattan Bridge has been opened for traffic a full year, but as 
yet no transit facilities have been provided on this bridge. The daily flow of traffic 
across the East River by bridges, ferries and tunnels, now amounts in the aggre- 
gate to about 500,000 each way. Of this number, one-third are carried over the 
four tracks of the Brooklyn Bridge. If the twenty tracks provided for on the 
other three bridges were used to the same extent, the bridges alone would carry 
1,000,000 people a day across the East River and back. But the Brooklyn Bridge 
is undoubtedly overworked, and it appears that at least two of the other bridges, 
in spite of their great cost, will have to be strengthened before they can carry the 
loads for which they were designed. 

In addition to the bridges, there are already constructed in tunnels under the 
East River eight railroad tracks, four of which are for use for street and rapid 
transit railways. 

The subway owned by the City, as at present constructed, makes operation tedious 
and expensive, and service uncertain. The people from The Bronx are carried 
across to the west side of Manhattan and down the west side to 42d st., and then 
carried back to the east side, with the result of greatly increasing the cost of opera- 
tion, choking the service where the two branches of the subway come together at 
96th St., and increasing the time necessary for bringing people from The Bronx to 



the lower part of Manhattan island. Unquestionably, as a matter of transit economy,, 
the present rapid transit subway system ought to be completed so as to furnish a 
through east side line and a through west side line up and down Manhattan. This 
is conceded by everybody. The present dispute is as to whether these extensions 
shall be built by the operating company exclusively from its own funds or with 
the help of the City. 

The elevated railway structures, which unfortunately cumber several of the prin- 
cipal avenues of Manhattan, are not now operated to advantage. The completion of 
the third-tracking, it is estimated, will add 60 per cent to the carrying capacity of 
these roads. 

In iBrooklyn, the development of the traffic on the elevated railway lines to 
their full capacity is prevented by the choking at the Brooklyn Bridge, and by the 
wretched operation made necessary by a crooked route in the business district of 
Brooklyn, as well as by the fact that some of the outlying lines, notably those on 
New Utrecht ave. and Gravesend ave., will have to be elevated or depressed before 
adequate rapid transit service can be safely furnished by them. 

The Steinway tunnel, which has been lying unused for four years, since it was 
practically completed, like the Queensboro Bridge, ends nowhere. No- provision has 
been made for the adequate development of transit facilities in Queens connecting 
with it. 

In The Bronx, tracks have been laid on St. Anns ave. for eight years, but 
owing to a defective franchise, they have never been put into use. Also in that 
Borough several stretches of track belonging to the New York City Interborough Rail- 
way Company have already been in the streets for several years unused, and only 
recently one of these stretches was abandoned and the tracks taken up. 

Everywhere in the development of the transit facilities of the greater city, chaos 
and waste are apparent. This appears to be due to the fact that the City and the 
State_ have gone all these years upon the assumption that the provision of rapid 
transit facilities for a great city was, in the main, a function for private companies, 
to be exploited for private gain, rather than a public function to be initiated and con- 
trolled by a strong central public authority with the power to plan a scientific sys- 
tem of transit and carry such a plan through to practical fruition. 

5. Suggestions as to the General Lines of Future Development. 

One of the _ most obvious principles ' that should control the development of 
transit facilities in a great city like New York, or, for that matter, in any great city, 
is to rnake adequate provisions by which people from all outlying sections suitable 
for residence, can be brought to and distributed through the business district of the 
city where they work, with quick and convenient service, for a single fare. Man- 
hattan island, south of 59th st., is the great business centre of the City. It ought to 
be possible for people living in upper Manhattan, in The Bronx, in Queens, in 
Brooklyn, and even in the nearby portions of New Jersey, to reach any point in this 
district quickly and cheaply. The present crjdng need of the greater city is the 
admission of the transit Hues of Brooklyn and Queens into and through this dis- 
trict. The Bronx has a population of less than half a million, and already has three 
rapid transit lines leading directly to lower Manhattan. Brooklyn and Queens have 
a population of nearly two millions, and have no street railway or rapid transit lines, 
that go further into Manhattan than the bridge terminals, except the short exten- 
sion of the present subway, which only serves to make the people of Brooklyn 
pay a second fare to get transit facilities which should be furnished them for the 
original fare which they have already paid on the Brooklyn lines. 

The awful congestion of population in the Borough of Manhattan has attracted 
the attention of lawmakers and reformers for about fifty years, but no adequate 
system of transit that would decrease this cohgestion, or even prevent its extending 
northward and spreading over a greater area, has yet been devised or seriously at- 
tempted. Congestion means higher rentals and enormous land values. It is con- 
trary to the interests of the landlords of Manhattan and The Bronx that conges- 
tion should be relieved, and it is fair to assume that a part of the egregious blunder- 
ing that has been characteristic of the City's transit development is to be laid at the 
door of the landlord interest. Unquestionably, the transit facilities of a great city 
should be planned as a unit. _ Unquestionably they should be operated as a unit, if 
they can be operated not primarily for the purpose of exploiting' monopoly fran- 
chises, but primarily fpr the development of facilities for rendering adequate service 
to the people of the City at a reasonable cost. Of course, a strictly private monopoly 
is contrary to the genius of democracy and would be intolerable in any American 
city, but if the experience of the past sixty years has demonstrated anything, it is 
that the provision of transit facilities for the people of a great city is in its nature 



81 

a public business and should be developed along lines calculated primarily to serve 
the public interest. If the City- finds it more convenient to make use of one or more 
private companies for operating purposes rather than to operate the transit lines 
itself, the very least that it can do is to maintain absolute control, both positive 
and negative, of the construction of new lines, the character of the equipment and 
services rendered, and the rates charged. 

Unquestionably, the subways and the elevated roads, but especially the subways 
in the heart of the City, furnish the key to an urban transit system. The control 
of these expensive "downtown links will, sooner or later, bring complete control of 
all street railway transit facilities. It appears from a careful examination of the 
general transit situation, that the following points are essential to any adequate pro- 
gram for transit development in New York City : 

1. The existing perpetual franchises must be terminated, either by forfeiture, 
where, through neglect or non-compliance with law, they have been made forfeitable, 
or through condemnation, or through purchase, or through negotiation, substituting 
modern short-term or indeterminate franchises for them. 

2. The general rapid transit system, over the development of which the City 
now has substantial control, should be planned so as to utilize to their capacity the 
subways, bridges, and elevated railroads already constructed, and so as to bring the 
people from the outlying portions directly into and through the principal business 
district, with quick service, for a single fare. 

3. An adequate system of belt lines and freight railroads, to encourage the 
development of .manufacturing centres, with convenient access to adequate resi- 
dence areas outside of the island of Manhattan, should be made a part of the gen- 
eral plan of transit development. 

The reason most frequently advanced during the past forty years for the in- 
terest the City and the State have taken in the development of rapid transit lines 
in New York, has been the necessity for relieving congestion of population on Man- 
hattan island, and yet substantially nothing has been accomplished to relieve such 
congestion. 

It seems to be about time for a united and determined effort to make for the 
interests of the City at large, and of its people, to override the great special interests, 
whether represented by land speculators or by the present owners of street railway 
and rapid transit franchises, to the end that this metropolis, with all its tremendous 
natiiral advantages and acquired wealth, shall become a fit place for men of limited 
means to live and bring up their families. 

As a practical means of bringing about the necessary control of the general 
transit system by the City, in addition to the adequate use of the City's rapid transit 
powers, the City ought to adopt a standard form of street railway franchises, with 
provision for the proper maintenance and development of street car facilities ; with 
provision for building all extensions as needed ; with provision for re-routing all 
lines so as to bring them up to their fullest capacity; with provision for a limited 
but semi-guaranteed return upon the actual present value of the physical property 
to be ascertained by appraisal ;_ with provision for the gradual amortization of capital 
out of earnings; with provision for a division of net profits and with provision 
for an indeterminate grant which would permit the City at any time to take over 
the street railways for municipal operation upon paying the appraised value as fixed 
in the grant, plus legitimate additions and betterments, and less' the accumulations 
of the amortization fund, or to cause the transfer of the street railways to a new 
company or companies upon the same terms. Having adopted such a standard form, 
and having secured any legislation that may be necessary to make it thoroughly prac- 
ticable, the City should commence a persistent hammering to compel the companies 
now claiming to have perpetual franchises to come in and make settlement on the 
new terms. The extraordinary carelessness displayed by the companies in the past 
in the matter of leaving portions of their franchises unused, in tbie matter of abandon- 
ing portions of their routes, and in the matter of violating the terms of their fran- 
chise and the Railroad Law in other ways, has left many of them open to attack in 
the courts. It is more than probable that_ with a club in one hand and a standard 
indeterminate franchise, adequately protecting the honest investors, in the other, the 
City could, in a few years, force all of the street railway companies to come to 
terms and thus secure for the City the necessary control that can never be hoped 
for as long as the perpetual franchises remain outstanding. 

This policy is practical and hopeful, for the reason that it would open the way 
for ultimate municipal ownership of all the lines by providing for the amortiza- 
tion of street railway capital out of earnings, so that the City would not be com- 
pelled to incur an enormous additional debt in taking the lines over. 



82 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING CONDITIONS, REGULA- 
TION OF BUILDINGS AND LOCATING NEW SETTLEMENTS. CHARLES 
SCHAEFER, JR., CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee on Housing Conditions, Regulation of Buildings and Location of 
New Settlements at their meetings have carefully considered various problems relat- 
ing to the present housing conditions and the various causes thereof, also what relief 
can be afforded to the present congested and densely populated centres. 

Various schemes for improved housing have been placed before the Committee 
at the public hearings, and examples presented of European cities which have had 
conditions to meet, which nearly parallel those of New York City. No important im- 
provement has been made in tenement house conditions in New York City since the 
enactment of the Tenement House Act of 1901. 

The faciUties of the Tenement House Department under the supervision of 
Commissioner Murphy have been placed at the disposal of the Committee, and the 
data thus obtained is submitted as a supplement to this report. 

The report deals with the present methods of inspection which are somewhat 
limited, and comprises the maximum of lot areas covered, inspection of old buildings 
and the overcrowding of rooms, also the improvement made in altering the present 
dark rooms, a condition that has been grievously neglected, as it deals mainly with 
people who are subjected to conditions that are a serious menace to their health and 
public welfare, while it also affects the hospitals and almshouses as well as the insane 
asylums of the City and increases the annual charitable expenditures of the City. To 
permit conditions such as those now prevalent to continue is unworthy of the Empire 
City. 

Sanitary conditions have been improved somewhat through the systematic inspec- 
tion of the Tenement House Department. Serious evils, however, which affect the 
health of the community and are likely to be the cause of epidemics with all the con- 
sequences, are permitted to exist under the present Tenement House Law, Health- 
Department and Building Code. 

Congested tenement areas have been shown to exist adjacent to and commonly 
become part of factory territories, due to the high rental and expenses of the house- 
hold, the long hours of labor and the lack of proper transit facilities. Low wages is 
also a cause of the overcrowding of rooms, as the Committee have found upon per- 
sonal investigation that in a number of cases lodgers or boarders are taken in order 
to reduce the family expenditure for rent. In a large proportion of cases the pres- 
ence of lodgers causes the unlawful occupation of such rooms in excess of the re- 
quirements regarding overcrowding. Many rooms which under the present law are 
habitable are really unfit for human occupancy and cannot be made fit except by 
radical structural changes. In many such apartm.ents a further menace to health is 
sanctioned by permitting the manufacture of articles of clothing, flowers, etc., through 
which disease and possible epidemics can be spread not only in the City and territories 
adjacent to the City, but throughout the country, as was shown by the partly finished 
articles in the various apartments visited. The present factory law, therefore, encour- 
ages congestion in allowing such manufacture in tenements which are occupied not 
only b}^ the tenants, but also by outside help either hired or brought in' to assist those 
occupying the apartment and to add to the existing unsanitary conditions. 

Congested districts usually furnish these conditions under which labor of this class 
is cheapest and most plentiful. The average rental of such apartments and the family- 
income are appended as a further report. 

These evils are not especially confined to any particular borough, but to certain 
areas in each borough which are noted for the high death rates, wliich is one of the 
inevitable results of such conditions which are actually legal under the present laws. 

The Cornmittee have had presented to it various methods adopted by European 
cities in dealing with similar problems and regulating living conditions by laws de- 
signed to spread the population over a greater area, as well as to enable them to reach 
their places of employment within a reasonable time and allow them to live in sur- 
roundings that promote health and happiness. The population of limited areas of 
Manhattan equals that of many large American cities. 

The room overcrowding has also been referred to, and this is found not alone in 
tenement houses, but also in private dwellings known as one and two-family houses. 
Such room overcrowding exists in one and two-family house sections which are 
undergoing changes, and the standards enforced in tenement houses should also be 
enforced in one and two-family houses, since the dangers of room or apartment 
overcrowding, such as infection and spread of disease, are nearly as serious in one 
•and two-family houses as in multiple family tenements. 



83 

The present building laws also permit rooms in one and two-family houses with- 
out any means of ventilation to the outer air. 

The increase in rental thus shown is due to several causes but mainly the fol- 
lowing : 

The increase of population requiring housing in limited areas, which naturally 
creates an increase in land values. Increase in cost of materials used in the con- 
struction of buildings, and increase in the cost of labor employed in the erection of 
buildings for general housing, have their effect in reducing the supply at moderate 
cost of new buildings, suitable for those of small incomes. To make possible a low 
density of population, land must be cheap, and this can be accomplished only by bring- 
ing much land into the market by transit and also by distributing factories, or by 
restricting the height and number of buildings, or by a combination of these. 

The cost of construction in the past ten years has, according to reports and in- 
vestigations, increased from an average of 10 cents per cubic foot to 16 cents per 
cubic foot for the ordinary type of a tenement house generally built. This would 
show an approximate increase in the cost of construction of about 5U per cent. While 
this seems excessive, it must be borne in mind that the type of hou.^e now constructed 
is far superior to that built 10 years ago. A certain percentage of increase in cost 
of construction is due to the demand in the new type of tenement for a better and 
more progressive apartment; therefore, the actual incre^^se in cost of construction, 
considering the convenience now offered, can be safely assumed at 25 to 30 per cent., 
and this is largely due to the increased cost of the various materials of a building. 

Land values have also increased. This increase, together with the increased cost 
of construction, have increased the capital invested in buildings, and as the owner 
assumes that he is entitled to a fair return on the investment, he is inclined to demand 
higher rentals. 

This increase in land values, therefore, has an influence in the decided advance 
in the rental value of buildings, while labor has also shared slightly in the general 
increase, but not proportionately to the cost of construction or to the largest expense, 
the increased value of land. 

Old Types of Tenements. 
The old type of tenement house has a large number of dark rooms, due to the 
narrowness of the light shafts or vent courts and the height of the buildings, and a 
larger proportion of these are located in the older or more densely populated sections 
of Manhattan than in the other boroughs, and are adjacent to the still older type 
of tenement which have the interior light or vent shafts, covered with a skylight, and 
others that have none whatsoever, but borrow the light for the interior rooms from 
the outer rooms through windows far too small to properly ventilate the outer rooms 
themselves. That is one of the most serious problems that the Committee have been 
confronted with, and it seems impossible to solve this uijtil the interior rooms can be 
so arranged as to open upon a properly ventilated, shaft or a court open to the sky. 
The present narrow courts also demand attention so as to afford a proper method 
of ventilation by means of a properly constructed intake or duct to afFord the passage 
of air from the street or outer air. 

Buildings Other Than Tenements. 

The Building Code contains no specific requirement as to the percentage of lot 
space, to be left unoccupied by certain classes of buildings, and it is possible to cover 
an entire lot of land adjacent to a tenement house with a factory or warehouse and 
thereby to rob the tenemient not only of light, but of ventilation, causing the yards 
and shafts to become enclosed ducts. 

In certain blocks in the Borough of Manhattan absolutely no through ventilation, 
can be had by reason of the various buildings surrounding the tenement houses on 
such areas. 

It is permissible under the law to construct an eight or ten-.story building ad- 
jacent to a two-foot 8-inch shaft 12 or 14 feet in length, which is the only- 
means of light and ventilation to three and possibly four interior rooms. 

The buildings known as apartment houses under the classification of tenements-- 
have not been investigated, for the reason that most of them have been constructed 
under the Tenement House Law of 1901, and are known as New Law Houses, and 
where renting for $6 and over per room do not demand the inquiries of the Com- 
mission. 

However, in many New Law Tenements located in the more densely populated 
sections of the City, although the general conditions of lighting and ventilation have 
been improved, there is much room overcrowding due to taking in of lodgers to re- 
duce the general family expenses. Section 111 of the Tenement House Law attempts. 



84 

to prevent this by specifying the amount of cubic air space to be provided as 400 
cubic feet for an adult and 200 cubic feet for a minor under 12. Although this 
remains a law, it has not been found possible by the Tenement House Department 
to enforce it effectively. The sanitary conditions of halls, .stairways, courts and 
yards, etc., should also be considered, since the Commission have found upon the 
various visits many foul and improperly cared for spaces and passageways. Whereas 
section 110 of the Tenement House Law requires a janitor to reside in the house 
where there are more than eight families, a number have been found to have no 
care whatsoever and tending to become detrimental to life and health. This section 
of the law affects seriously the -more congested sections of our City. The present 
law as to the percentage of lot area that may be occupied requires further investiga- 
tion than it has been possible for the Committee to give to the question, particularly 
with- relation to the erection of buildings in the now congested sections of the City. 

In the more sparsely settled sections of the various boroughs it is not necessary 
to have as large a percentage of the lot area occupied by buildings as necessitated 
by the high cost of land in Manhattan and parts of The Bronx and Brooklyn, neither 
should the buildings be as high, while detached or open building should be encouraged 
wherever possible. In the judgment of the Committee the zones or districts to v/hich 
these regulations should apply should be determined by some commission with ade- 
quate funds to make studies of land values for the future development of the entire 
City. This work should preferably be done by the Municipal Art Commission and 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment, whose report and plan for the City should 
be made mandatory by statute. The Committee have made suggestions merely re- 
garding the height of buildings, as their primary task is to prevent congestion of 
population. Revision of the Building Code is also essential". Legislation should 
moreover be enacted immediately, providing that where factories or lofts or other 
manufacturing structures are erected upon any block in which at present 50 per cent, 
of the buildings are used or occupied as tenement houses, space shall be left in the 
rear of such building or structure equal to the depth of the yard required for a 
tenement house of equal height, or of a depth at least one-tenth the height of the 
building with a minimum of ten feet. This is necessary to maintain the through 
block circulation of air required and for the light and ventilation of tenements. 

It is necessary at the beginning of this report to distinguish between "concentra- 
tion" of population and "congestion" of population, the former term implying the 
presence within a limited area of a large population, the latter term the overloading 
of land. Thus it would be possible to have in the 209,218 acres of Greater New York 
10,460,900 people with a density of only SO to the acre throughout the City, or more 
than twice the present population. This would represent marked concentration of 
population, but with any even distribution of population throughout the five boroughs 
would not involve any congestion of population. New York City might have a 
population of even a much jarger number within its present boundaries without any 
serious congestion. 

Congestion of population is a term about the meaning of which there is undoubt- 
edly great difference of opinion. In the report of this Committee it will be used as 
indicative of conditions of population which are conducive to unsanitary or immoral 
living in special sections of the City. These sections will be spoken of as "congested 
sections." 

_ It may at the outset be said that there is no legal limit set to the population 
which may exist in the City or in particular sections thereof, with two exceptions : 

First — By the Factory Law at least 250 cubic feet of air space must be provided 
for each worker. 

Second — The Tenement House Law requires that rooms in tenement houses shall 
not be so overcrowded that there shall be afforded less than 400 cubic feet of air 
space to each adult and 200 cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of 
age occupying such rooms. 

While there are thus no legal limits set to the number of people who may either 
-work or live in the City or any particular section thereof, the structural require- 
ments of the Building Law combined with certain requirements of the Tenement 
House Law limit the population which may be housed in the most congested sec- 
tions, if these laws are complied with. 

The limits are : 

(1) A density of population at the minimum of 1,300 to the acre, including with- 
in that area half the acreage of the streets upon which the houses front in buildings 
six stories in height. 

(2) A floor area of 260 square feet and a space of 2,340 cubic feet for each 
living apartment; that is, two rooms 7x10 feet, and one room 10x12, with a height 
of 9 feet clear in all rooms from floor to ceiling. 



(3) A lot occupancy of 90 per centum of corner lots and 70 per centum of 

interior lots. . . , . . •, , i , 

(4) In six-story tenements imder the existmg laws it is possible that only one 
room out of four will obtain an adequate supply of sunshine.. 

These laws have a practical effect, however, only upon tenement houses. Thus 
it is possible to cover an entire plot of land adjacent to a tenement house by a fac- 
tory or warehouse of almost any height and thus deprive a tenement not only of 
light, but of ventilation, by causing the yards or shafts to become enclosed ducts. 
In certain blocks in the Borough of Manhattan no through ventilation can be had 
by reason of the fact that these various buildings surround the tenement houses. 

These limits to the population and to the character of the tenement houses have 
been, it must be remembered, operative only since 1901. As the Tenemnt House Law 
passed that year was not retroactive in effect the then existing conditions of conges- 
tion of population so far as they exceeded the limits fixed by that law were not 
changed, with the result that in many sections conditions then existing are still found. 
Many thousands of the old type of tenement houses are still standing in three bor- 
oughs with many dark rooms, due to the narrowness of light or vent shafts and 
courts, and the height of the buildings. A large proportion of this class of houses 
is located in the older and more densely populated sections of Manhattan. Some 
of these houses have the interior light or vent shafts covered with skylights, and 
others borrow the light for the interior rooms from the outer rooms through windows 
far too small properly to ventilate the outer rooms themselves. 

These efforts to limit by law congestion of population have, however, in many 
cases and in the most congested sections been nullified by overcrowding rooms be- 
yond the legal limits, and this overcrowding of rooms is to be found both in the 
tenement houses of the old and new types, and also in the rooms of one and two- 
family houses, which under the present building laws need not be provided with 
any means of ventilation to the outer air. 

The requirement as to cubic air space which shall be provided for each person 
is so low that the seven (7) by ten (10) foot room which is permitted under the 
Tenement House Law is legally adequate for one adult and one minor under twelve. 
It would be possible to house practically all of the probable population of New 
York City with a normal increase for several decades in three-family tenements and 
two-family houses, and a large proportion of the families could have at least a small 
garden. In 1901 the greatest density of population in any borough of London was 
182.3 per acre, and for Greater London 14.8. 

Mr. Lawrence Veiller, a well-known housing expert, wrote in 1905 : 
"No conception of the existing conditions can be obtained from any general state- 
ments. To say that the lower East Side of New York is the most densely populated 
spot in the habitable globe gives no adequate idea of the real conditions. . To say 
that in one section of the City the density of population is 1,000 to the acre and 
that the greatest density of population in the most densely populated part of Bombay 
is but 759 to the acre, in Prague 485 to the acre, in Paris 434, in London 365, in 
Glasgow 350, in Calcutta 204, gives one no adequate realization of the state of af- 
fairs. No more does it, to say that in many city blocks on the East Side there is 
often a population of from 2,000 to 3,000 persons, a population equal to that of a 
good-sized village. The only way that one can understand the real conditions is to 
go down into the streets of these districts and see the thousands of persons throng- 
ing them and making them impassable. So congested have become the conditions 
of some of the quarters of this City, that it is not an exaggeration tosay that there 
are more people living there than the land or the atmosphere can with safety sus- 
tain. The limits have not only been reached, but have long been passed." 

■ In his book, "The Housing Problem," published in 1910, Mr. Veiller makes the 
serious charge: "The conditions in New York are without parallel in the civilized 
world. In no city of Europe, not in Naples nor in Rome, neither in London nor in 
Paris, neither in Berlin, Vienna or Buda-Pesth, not in Constantinople, nor in St. 
Petersburg, not in ancient Edinburgh nor modern Glasgow, not in heathen Canton nor 
Bombay, are to be found such conditions as prevail in modern enlightened twentieth 
century, Christian New York. 

"In no other city is the mass of the working population housed as it is in 
New York, in tall tenement houses, extending up into the air fifty or sixty feet, and 
stretching for miles in every direction as far as the eye can reach. In no other 
city are there the same appaUing conditions with regard to lack of light and air 
in the homes of the poor. In no other city is there as great_ congestion and over- 
crowding. In no other city do the poor so suffer from excessive rents ; in no other 
city are the conditions of city life so complex. Nowhere are the evils of modern 
life so varied, nowhere are the problems so difficult of solution." 



86 

The Commission have investigated many phases and conditions of this conges- 
tion, it is apparent that the congestion to which Mr. Veiller referred so strongly 
in 1905 is increasing in the sections of the City w^hich had even in that year the 
greatest density of population per acre. 

1. Density of Population Per Acre in Large Areas. 

In 1905, 742,135 people lived on 2,418.5 acres south of 14th street in Manhattan 
at a density for the entire area of 306.8 per acre. Between 1905 and 1910 the popu- 
lation of this area had increased by 27,165 to a total of 769,300 and the density per 
acre had increased by 11.2 per acre to 318 per acre. In 1905 18.48 per cent, of 
the total population of New York City were living on 1.15 per cent, of 
the total area of the City, and by 1910 this had fallen to 16.13 per cent, of the City's 
population, in spite of the fact that the increase in density of the population per acre 
had increased 11.2 in the five years. This increase of population in these five years 
was five times as great as the total number of persons per acre in 1910, in both the 
boroughs of Queens and Richmond, and this, although during these five years scores 
of high multiple-family tenements were torn down for public improvements, notably 
the approaches of the two bridges, the Manhattan and the Williamsburg. 

In 1905 slightly over one-sixth of the City's population were living below 14th 
street in Manhattan on one eighty-seventh of the City's area, in 1910 slightly under 
■one-sixth of the City's entire population. It must be borne in mind, too, that in this 
district are located factories employing nearly one-half of the total number of work- 
ers in factories in the City and a large proportion of the oftice buildings of the City. 

In 1910, 375,316 people, 7.86 per cent., nearly one-thirteenth of the City's population, 
lived in the 10th, 11th and 17th Wards of Manhattan at a density of over 600 to 
the acre, 64,651 people, or 1.34 per cent, of the City's population, lived in the 13th 
Ward of Manhattan at an average density of 591.3 to the acre, 102,108 people, 2.11 per 
cent._ of the City's population, lived in the Seventh Ward of Manhattan at an average 
density of 495.6 per acre, 1,450,838 people, 30.43 per cent., nearlv one-third of the City's 
population, lived in the 12th, 15th, 18th and 22d Wards of Manhattan, and the 10th, 
13th, 14th, 15th, 19th 25th and 28th Wards of Brooklyn at a density of 100 to 149 to 
the acre; 1,001,023 people, 20.99 per cent., approximately one-fifth of the City's popu- 
lation, lived in the Second and Third Wards of Manhattan, the 29th, 30th, 31st and 
32d Wards of Brooklyn and in the Boroughs of Richmond, Queens and The Bronx 
at a density of less than 25 to the acre. The 10th, 11th and 17th Wards of Manhattan 
had an average density of population per acre of over 600. the highest being the 17th, 
with 647.8, while the 13th had 593.1, while the Seventh had 495.3. Three Wards in 
Manhattan had a density of between 200 and 299 and the 16th Ward in Brooklyn 278.8 
per acre, while no other wards had a density of over 200 to the acre, although five 
wards in Brooklyn had a density of over 140 per acre. The maximum density of 
Queens, in the First Ward was only 132. 

Population of Each Borough in New York in 1900, 1905 and 1910, and Density Per 
Acre and Increase from 1905 to 1910. 





Popu- 


Density 


Popu- 


Density 


Popu- 


Density 


Density 


Borough. 


lation. 


Per 


lation, 


Per 


lation, 


Per 


Per 




1900. 


Acre. 


1905. 


Acre. 


1910. 


Acre. 


Acre. 


Manhattan 


..1,850,093 


131.8 


2,112,380 


149.8 


2,331,542 


166.1 


15.6 


The Bronx 


.. 200,507 


7.7 


271,630 


10.4 


430,980 


16.5 


6.1 


Brooklyn 


...1,166,582 


23.48 


1,358,686 


27.27 


1,634,351 


32.89 


5.5 


Queens . . 


... 152,999 


1.8 


198,240 


2.3 


204,041 


2.46 


0.4 


Richmond 


. . . 67,021 


1.8 


72.845 


1.9 


85,969 


2.34 


0.3 


Greater N. 


Y. 3,437,202 


16.4 


4,013,781 


19.1 


4,766,883 


22.7 


3.5 



2. Block Density Per Acre in Different Boroughs. 

The density of population per acre of a ward or any large area may be extremely 
misleading, both because the areas of wards vary so greatly, as from 78 acres in the 
Second Ward of Manhattan to 36,600 acres in the Fourth Ward of Queens, and 
because a small part of a ward may be very closely built up with high tenements 
while the larger part of the ward is entirely unimproved, and this fact reduces the 
density for the entire area to a minimum most misleading. 

The density of population per acre in blocks is probably the most accurate 
measure of actual density. 

There were in Manhattan, in 1905, 122 blocks with a density of 750 to the acre, 
and 30 blocks with a density of 1,000 or over to the acre, counting in the acreage of 
such blocks one-half of the area of the bounding streets 



87 

In 1905 the average density per acre of all these blocks was 967; in 1910 it had 
fallen to 952, a decrease of 15 per acre; the population of all the blocks had fallen 
from 308,396 in 1905 to 303,839 in 1910— that is, 4,557. Fifty-three of the blocks 
showed a decrease in population, the most marked case being the block bounded by 
West 61st St. and 62d st., Amsterdam and West End aves., whose population fell in 
the five years from 6,173 to 3,501, a total reduction of 2,672, or nearly three-fifths of 
the total increase in population of the entire 122 blocks. The density of population 
of this block fell from 1,145 to 649 per acre, a reduction of 496 per acre. The block 
with the largest increase in population is that bounded by Grand, Broome, Ridge and 
Pitt sts., whose population increased, from 1905 to 1910, from 1,843 to 2,552 — that is, 
by 709, and whose density of population increased from 910 to 1,260, or 350 per 
acre. This block is in the centre of the congested East Side. 

Of the fifty-three blocks, the population of which decreased from 1905 to 1910, 

The density per acre of 23 blocks decreased under 50 per acre. 

The density per acre of 14 blocks decreased from 50 to 100 per acre. 

The density per acre of 7 blocks decreased from 101 to 200 per acre. 

The density per acre of 1 block decreased from 201 to 300 per acre. 

The density per acre of 4 blocks decreased from 300 to 400 per acre. 

The density per acre of 4 blocks decreased over 400 per acre. 
Of the sixty-five blocks, whose population increased from 1905 to 1910, 

The density per acre of 28 blocks increased under 50 per acre. 

The density per acre of 22 blocks increased from 50 to 100' per acre. 

The density per acre of 9 blocks increased from 101 to 200 per acre. 

The density per acre of 5 blocks increased from 200 to 301 per acre. 

The density per acre of 1 block increased over 400 per acre. 
The density of population of one block remained stationary and of three is un- 
known for 1910. 

Of the 114 blocks below 14th st. which had in 1905 a density of 750 or over per 
acre, the population of 63 increased, and of 51 decreased from 1905 to 1910. The 
total population in these blocks decreased from 1905 to 1910 by 2,393, while the total 
population south of 14th st. increased 27,165. 

Only 4 of the 122 blocks which had in 1905 a density of over 750 to the acre are 
above 14th st. 

A study of the changes in density of population from 1905 to 1910 of 28 important 
blocks in the lower part of The Bronx, which had in 1905 a population of 1,000 or 
over, is even more significant, because here many of these very blocks are blocks 
practically unimproved, and within walking distance of some are scores of acres of 
vacant land. 

In 1905 the total population of these 28 blocks was 37,241'; in 1910 it had increased 
to 42,897, a gain of 5,656. The average density per acre of all the blocks was 360 in 
1905, and 414 in 1910, an increase of 54 per acre, or over one-seventh in the five years. 
The population of 20 blocks just three-quarters increased during this period; that of 
eight decreased. 

Three blocks had in 1910 a density per acre of over 600 as follows : The block 
bounded by Kelly st., Westchester, Wales and Robbins aves., of 633; the block bounded 
by East 146th and 147th sts., St. Anns and Brook aves., of 610; the block bounded by 
East 136th and 137th sts., Willis ave. and Brown place, of 607. The population of 
the first of these increased in the five years from 1,227 to 1,633, and the population of 
the block bounded by 140th and 141st sts., Willis and Brook aves., increased from 
1,601 to 2,298 — that is, by 697, or over two-fifths. The increase in density of only 
eight of the blocks was under 50 per cent.; of seven between 50 and 100; of four 
between 101 and 200, and of one over 200, while the decrease in density of six out of 
seven blocks was under 50 per acre. Several blocks in The Bronx are rapidly becom- 
ing as densely populated as the great majority of the congested blocks in Manhattan, 
and these Bronx blocks are also occupied chiefly by artisans and factory operatives 
and laborers. 

The Sixteenth Ward of Brooklyn had in 1905 a population of 61,136, with an 
average density per acre of 249.3. By 1910 the population increased to 68,253; the 
density to 278.8 per acre. 

There were in 1905 23 blocks in the ward with a density of 300 per acre or over. 
The average density per acre of all of these blocks in 1905 was 365 ; in 1910 it was 
401, an increase of 36 per acre, or about 9 per cent. Six of the 23 blocks had a 
density of between 300 to 350 per acre; eight of between 351 and 400; five of between 
401 and 450; two of between 451 and 500, while the block bounded by Boerum, Mc- 
Kibben and Humboldt sts. and Graham ave., had a density of 540 per acre, and the 
block bounded by Boerum st, McKibben st., Bushwick ave. and Humboldt ave., a 
density of 495 per acre. The same fluctuation in density of individual blocks occurred 



in this period as in the blocks in Manhattan which had in 1905 a density of 750 per 
acre or over, but the net density of population per acre of the 244.8 acres of the ward, 
the most densely populated in Brooklyn, nevertheless increased by nearly 30 people 
per acre. 

Of the 23 blocks under consideration, nearly half decreased in density, but nine 
of them by under 50 per acre and only two by over 50'; none by over 100. The block 
bounded by Boerum and McKibben and Hum.boldt sts. and Graham ave. increased in 
density by 174 per acre. 

Six of the 23 blocks increased under 50' per acre, three between 50 and 100, and 
three between 101 and 200. A large proportion of most of these blocks have only a 
few high tenements, so that the maximum probable density of many is at least 600 
to the acre if the present development continues. 

3. Room Overcrowding. 

There has not been any systematic effort to prevent room overcrowding in the 
City, but the data as to the extent and seriousness of this evil has been secured from 
various reliable sources. The Tenement House Commissioners, at the request of 
this Commission, prosecuted an investigation in a few crowded blocks and found 
the following conditions ; parents, children, and three to eight adult boarders, occu- 
pied apartments of two, three and four rooms. 

Number of Rooms Having Indicated Number of Occupants — (a Minor Under 12 is 

Counted as Half an Adult). 

Occupants >^ 1 ly^ 2 2^ 3 3^ 4 4^ 

Number of rooms — 20 6 58 30 90 15 50 3 



Occupants 5 Syi 6 6i^ 7 

Number of Rooms 11 2 9 1 ', 5 


7y2 8 
— 1 


8^ 10 
_ 2 






Extent of Overcrowding in Rooms Occupied. Number of Persons in Each Room, 
Over lYz Per Room. (A Minor Under 12 is Counted as Half an Adult.) 


Occupants ^ 1 VA 2 2^^ 

Number of rooms 56 28 82 15 51 


3 3^ 
3 9 


4 4^ 
3 9 


Occupants 5 5^ 6 7 

Number of rooms 1 5 1 — 


7^ 8 


8^ 10 

2 — 



An investigation, however, made in February, 1910, by the "Settlements" in 
various sections of the Borough of Manhattan and some of the congested districts 
of Brooklyn, showed that of 91 families reported, less than one-half had two 
occupants or less per room, while one-fourth had 2^ occupants per room, one- 
seventh had three, one-ninth had 3^, and one-eighth had 4 occupants "to a room, 
or over. Two cases were discovered of six occupants in a room ; one in a basement, 
and one in an attic. One-sixth of the families reported upon were living in two- 
room apartments ; one-half in three-room apartments. In each case the number of 
rooms in the apartment included the kitchen. The families investigated were typical 
self-supporting families. The Nurses Settlement on Henry st. reported that 95 per 
cent of the families which they knew have three occupants per room or over. This 
overcrowding existed notwithstanding the fact that from 5 to 15 per cent of the apart- 
ments available are, in most parts of Manhattan, constantly vacant. 

4. Intensive Use of Land. 

(rt) Proportion of area of blocks covered by buildings in 1908 : 

In Manhattan, over one-fourth of the blocks were covered solidly by buildings 
or had less than 11 per cent of the area not covered, and over half of the blocks 
had less than 21 per cent of the area not covered by buildings. 

In the built-up sections of Brooklyn, nearly one-fifth of the blocks were cov- 
ered solidly by buildings, or had less than 11 per cent of the site not covered, and 
over one-third of the blocks had less than 21 per cent of the site not covered, while 
two-thirds of the blocks had not over one-third of the area devoted to courts and 
yards. 

In the built-up section of the 23d Ward of The Bronx, one-fourteenth of the 
blocks were solidly covered by buildings, or had less than 11 per cent not covered, 
and nearly one-fifth had less than 21 per cent of the area not covered, while one-half 
of the blocks had 30 per cent of the area in courts and yards. 



89 

(b) Use of land below Chambers St., New Chambers st. and James slip, in Man- 
hattan. How the area below Chambers st. is utilized : 

About two-thirds of the area below Chambers st. was covered by buildings in 
1908. Of this covered area, nearly one-third was covered by buildings five stories 
high ; nearly one-tenth was covered by buildings six stories high ; nearly one-eleventh 
was covered by buildings twelve stories or over. 

(c) Cubage or volume of buildings: 

Mayor McClellan's first Building Code Revision Commission recommended that 
no building should exceed a cubage or volume of more than 174 times the area of 
the lot, that is', that it should not exceed a volume equivalent to 174 times the area 
of the lot or a solid building of fourteen stories covering the entire lot. 

In 1907 there were, however, below Chambers st. eight office buildings having a 
cubage. or volume of over 250 times the area of the lot, and eleven office buildings 
having a cubage of over 200 times the area of the lot,, while one had a cubage of 313 
times the area, an excess of 139, or more than three-quarters over the cubage recom- 
mended. 

5. Height of Tenements. 

There were in 1908, out of a total of 71,922 tenements in Manhattan, 8,761 tene- 
ments six stories high or over; in the 23d Ward of The Bronx, out of 12,181 tene- 
ments, 1,812 tenements five stories high or over; and in the 1st to 7th, inclusive,_9th, 
10 to 17, inclusive, and the 20th to 26th, inclusive. Wards of Brooklyn, cornprising 
most of the built-up section, out of 63,649 tenements, 723, or about one-ninetieth, 
five stories or over. (Many tenements are six stories high in front and a lesser 
number in the rear, and each number of stories is counted.) 

Of the tenements for which plans were filed in 1909 and 1910, in Manhattan, 
out of a total of 667 only about one-sixth (109) were under six stories high. 

In The Bronx, out of a total of 1,855, nearly two-thirds (1,158) were five! 
stories or over. 

In Brooklyn, out of a total of 1,563, only about one-thirtieth (54), were five 
stories or over. 

In Queens, out of a total of 443, only one was over four stories. Of the five 
tenements in Richmond, two were two stories, two were three stories, and one 
over six stories. 

Of the total 4,533 tenements for which plans were filed in New York, 613 
were six stories ; 1,137, about one-fourth, five stories ; and 2,649, about three-fifths, 
four stories high or less, more than one-fourth being three stories or less. 

6. Multiple Family Tenements. 

Tenements of this type are for the accommodation of several families, and of 
fhese tenements plans were filed in 1909 and 1910 as follows : In Manhattan, of 667 
only 272 provided for four families or less per floor. In The Bronx, out of 1,855, 
only 438, or approximately one-fourth, provided for over four families per floor, 
while 855 provided for two families or less per floor, approximately one-half of the 
total number. In Brooklyn, out of 1,563 tenements, 1,345, or over four-fifths, provided 
for two families or less per floor, and 321, or one-fifth, only one family per floor, 
although there were in Brooklyn 164 tenements which provided for four families 
per floor or over. Out of 443 tenements in Queens, 422 provided for two families 
or less per floor, and the largest number of families to the floor was four, in eleven 
tenements. 

In Richmond, two tenements provided for one family to the floor, and three for 
two families. 

In New York City as a whole, out of 4,533 tenements for which plans were filed 
in 1909 and 1910, 485, or approximately one-tenth, provided for one family per 
floor; 2,641 provided for two families or less per floor; approximately one-fifth pro- 
vided for five families per floor or more. 

7. Heights of Buildings Other Than Tenements in 1907 and 1908. 

In Manhattan, out of 17,357 buildings used for all purposes, except tenements, 
nearly seven-eighths were six stories high or less, and only one-hundredth were 13 
stories high or over. In Brookljm, out of 10,439 such buildings, only about one- 
hundredth were over six stories high. In the 23d Ward of The Bronx, out of 2,735 
such buildings, only 14 were over six stories high. 

8. Office Construction. 

There were in office buildings below Chambers St., New Chambers st. and James 
slip in 1908, allowing 110 square feet to each occupant, accommodations for nearly 
130,000 people. 



90 

In office buildings constructed in 1908 there were provided accommodations be- 
low Cortlandt st. and Maiden lane for 15,575 persons, allowing 110 square feet to 
each occupant. A single building, however, such as the City Investing Building or the 
Hudson Terminal Buildings, provides accommodations for from 8,000 to 10,000 people. 

As one measure in solving the housing problem, the creation of workingmen's 
colonies has been tried by several American cities. Bearing in mind the particular 
needs of each section and the present ownership of land in New York City, this 
method can only be referred to by the Committee as a possible means of inter- 
esting private capital, as is now proposed by one of our larger railroad corporations 
in establishing colonies adjacent to their yards or works. Their plan is outlined in 
the following statement : 

"Extract from the 'American Contractor.'" — ^Workingmen's Colonies. 

"The announcement recently made by the Pennsylvania Railroad that a number 
of houses to be occupied by its employees will be erected in Harrison, N. J., and in 
Sunnyside, L. I., has called attention to the movement inaugurated in European 
cities for the proper housing of the working classes. This movement has made rapid 
strides in England, and 'garden cities' have sprung up in the last few years in 
nearly all industrial centres. 

''It is not known whether the Pennsylvania Railroad intends to build entire cities 
for its employees or whether the project of erecting houses is limited to a certain 
number. New York builders have been asked to submit estimates for certain types 
■of cottages, and as the officials of the railroad never furnish information until all 
arrangernents for the carrying out of a project have been completed, the details of 
the housing plans will not be made public for the present. It was stated last week, 
says the 'New York Sun,' at the offices of the company, that the real estate com- 
mittee of the Board of Directors is considering the matter and will report at the 
next meeting. 

"London, Birmingham and other large cities have within the last two or three 
years rtiade attempts to solve the housing problem. The town planning act passed 
iDy Parliament last year gave an impetus to the movement, and garden cities, founded 
either by large employers or by societies, are flourishing. The new movement must 
not be confounded with colonies and communities started by Pourier, Rapp, Owen 
and other economists and religious teachers, who based their undertakings on the 
subordination of individual life. 

"The latest scheme for the development of towns is a mild form of paternalism. 
An expression of the Right Hon. William Kendrick, who is interested in the 'Har- 
borne Tenants' on this question, gives the aim of the movement in brief as follows : 
'Employers of labor are answerable for calling together in a limited space many thou- 
sands of operatives. If they have any regard for the kind of houses the employees 
live in they have a great responsibility, and they ought to come forward and help in 
this work. They should not leave it to the City Council to purchase a little space 
here and there at enormous expense. They want City councillors and suburban 
district councils to have the power to say to building speculators. "You shall not 
■crowd houses irrespective of decency and the health of the children and inhabitants 
of the houses." In the meantime let them be up and doing, for ere the Government 
does this they might have to wait some time.' 

"The Hampstead Gardens and the Bourneville Village Trust are the largest and 
most successful of these towns. The idea carried out in this scheme has not as yet 
been copied on this side of the ocean, but signs are not wanting that American cities 
will witness within a short time a similar movement of town building. The socialistic, 
or rather, co-operative, theory underlying the erection of houses belonging to all and 
to no one in particular has appealed to the officials of Milwaukee, who have despatched 
an emissary to Europe to study the movement and to return prepared for the man- 
agement of a similar project to be fostered and fathered by the municipality. 

"The Hampstead Garden Trust furnishes workmen employed in London a cottage 
with a garden at a rental considerably less than they would be compelled to pay for 
a small flat in the city. The fare from Hampstead Garden to London is two pence. 
Different parts of the town are set aside for playgrounds. Houses are never sold, 
only leased at a rental of $150 to $175 a year. More than seventy acres are used for 
workmen's cottages, while the remainder are set aside for shops, villas and larger 
houses standing in an acre or two of pleasure ground. All tenants are joint owners. 
It is claimed for the system that in principle it solves the question of the unearned 
increment, for all the gain under this head does not go to the shareholders, who are 
the tenants, but by swelling the surplus profits it necessarily benefits all the tenant 
members of the trust in the shape of increased dividends on their rentals. 

"The Bourneville Village Trust, which was founded by an employer in Birming- 
ham for the purpose of reducing the cost of living of his workmen and providing 



91 

them with sanitary and comfortable houses, has been the most successful of the 
enterprises The founder, George Cadbury, stated in the deed by which he estabhshed 
the trust that he was desirous of securing to workers m factories some of the ad- 
vantages of outdoor village life, with opportunities for the natural and healthful 
occupation of cultivating the soil. , , , ^ • u^ o-t 

"The houses and land in Bourneville Village are not sold outright. The property 
is leased to families for a term of 999 years. Covenants in the leases secure the 
accompUshment of the purpose of the founder. The village is administered by trus- 
tees and the income, whether from rents or any other source, is employed m laying 
out 'the estate building more houses and purchasing other estates to be developed 
in the same way as Bourneville. Care has been taken m laying out the village that 
it shall be picturesque as well as healthful. There are about six houses to the acre 
and the majority of the houses have two sitting rooms, a kitchen and three bedrooms. 
The cheapest houses are let at $1.10 and the largest houses at $1.90 a week. Water 
rents and sewer taxes are paid by the tenants." 

Insanitary Buildings. 

A report on the demolition of insanitary buildings and proceedings in such 
■cases is attached as an appendix to the general report, and shows the methods and 
powers now vested in the several departments of New York City, the abatement 
of such nuisances, and the powers and procedure of other American cities. 

The investigations of the committee have been seriously hampered by the lack ot 
funds required to make full and complete studies and to submit such data and maps 
as would illustrate more clearly than compiled statistics the conclusions they have 
reached. It would seem, therefore, that the appointment of permanent commissions 
or boards empowered to investigate the conditions of our city fully and provided with 
the necessary office equipment and help required to take up the matters in detail is 
the only logical solution of the problem, as ordinary committee work served only 
to barely scratch the surface of the problem and not to delve into the matter fully. 

The committee have, therefore, recommended the creation of several such boards. 

Recommendations of the Committee for Relieving the Present Congestion and 

Preventing Future Congestion of Population. 

1. Restriction of the Height or Volume of Buildings Other Than Tenements. 

(a) That no building hereafter to be erected in Manhattan, south of the south 
side of 181st street, shall exceed a cubage or volume of 174 times the area of the 
lot, and that no building be altered to exceed this cubage. This means that no build- 
ing shall exceed a height of 174 feet covering the entire area of the lot. If each 
story were 12 feet in height this would permit of a height of 14 stories with a base- 
ment, which would not in any way confiscate existing land values, since a large part 
of the values of the site are due to accessibility to the multitudes of population on 
thoroughfares for stores and exchange purposes on the first floor. 

(b) That no building hereafter to be erected in any part of New York City 
except in Manhattan, south of the south side of 181st street, shall exceed a cubage 
or volume of 120 times the area of the lot, and that no building in this district 
shall be altered to exceed this cubage. This means a restriction to about ten stones 
covering the entire area of the lot. 

(c) That every building over four stories or 50 feet in height to be occupied 
as a factory, loft, warehouse or other miscellaneous buildings be of fireproof con- 
struction, and may not have any woodwork. 

(d) That when the height of any building except one to be used as a factory, 
loft, warehouse or .other miscellaneous buildings does not exceed one hundred feet 
(instead of twelve stories, nor more than one hundred and fifty feet, as provided in 
the present building code), that the doors and windows and their frames, the trims 
the casings, the interior finish when filled solid at the back with fireproof material, 
and the floor boards and sleepers directlyVunderneath may be of wood. 

(e) That when the height of any fireproof building except one to be used as a 
factory, loft, warehouse or other miscellaneous building exceeds one hundred and 
fifty feet, that no wood may be used in the floors or as sleepers even if treated by 
some process now approved by the Board of Buildings to render them fireproof, nor 
for the inside window frames and sash doors, trim and other interior finish as per- 
mitted by the present building code. 

(f) That no factory or loft building hereafter to be erected shall exceed a 
cubage or volume of one hundred and thirty-two times the area of the lot, and that 
no building hereafter altered to exceed this cubage or volume shall be used for fac- 
tory or loft purposes. 



92 

2. Restriction Upon tlie Lot Occupancy of Buildings Other Than Tenements. 

(a) That at the rear of every factory and loft building hereafter erected, there 
shall be provided a yard open and unobstructed from the street level to the sky across 
the entire width of the lot and of a depth equal to one-tenth of the height of the 
building, but in no case less than one-tenth of the depth of the lot, or if this lot be 
under one hundred feet in depth, of a depth of less than ten feet, and that no prem- 
ises or building hereafter erected shall be converted to or occupied as a factory or 
loft that does not conform to this requirement. 

(b) That there shall be in addition to the area of a lot now required to be un- 
occupied a yard extending across the rear of lot of every dwelling to be occupied 
by more than one family equal to 10 per cent, of the depth of the lot unobstructed 
from the ground level to the sky, and all rooms of such dwellings shall open and 
ventilate upon a street, yard or court not less than 4 feet wide or upon an offset to 
such court the depth of which does not exceed the width of same. 

3. Restrictions Upon the Height of Tenements. 

(a) That no tenement house hereafter erected shall exceed in height the width 
of the widest street upon which it stands, and that no tenement shall be increased 
in height, so that it shall exceed in height the width of the widest street upon which 
it stands. 

(b) That no tenement house hereafter erected in the City of New York, except 
in the Borough of Manhattan south of the south side of 181st street, shall exceed 
four stories in height, except that for every fifteen per centum of the lot area left un- 
occupied, less than the maximum occupancy now legally permissible, an additional 
story shall be permitted and a tenement house may be five stories high without being 
of fireproof construction if it occupy fifteen per centum less of the lot area than now 
legally permissible. 

(c) That every tenement house hereafter erected exceeding four stories or 
parts of stories or fifty feet in height above the curb level shall be a fireproof tene- 
ment house, and that no tenement house be altered so as to exceed such height 
without being made a fireproof tenement house. 

(d) That tenements in outlying districts of the city be restricted to three stories 
high and an equivalent restriction be put upon the volume or cubage of buildings other 
than tenements, and that the Board of Aldermen and Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment should determine these districts or zones for a period of twenty years. 

4. Modifications of the Tenement House Law Respecting Three-Family Tene- 
ments to Encourage the Construction of These Small Tenements with Few Families 
as Follows: 

(a) That buildings not exceeding 30 feet in height need not have either fire- 
escapes or stairs extending to the roof. 

(b) That in tenement houses hereafter erected not exceeding three stories and 
cellar in height, and arranged to be occupied by not more than one family on a floor 
and three families in all, in lieu of stairs there shall be an iron ladder to the roof 
placed at an angle of 60 degrees, and constructed as required by the Tenement House 
Law, and that the width of stairs in such a three-story tenement be 2 feet 9 inches. 

(c) That a scuttle shall be provided for a three-family tenement 24 by 36 inches, 
with a scuttle cover provided with a counterbalance weight. 

(d) That in tenements not exceeding three stories in height, the stairwells may 
be reduced to a width of 10 inches to extend from entrance floor to the roof. 

(e) That windows in three-family tenements may be placed in vent shaft in 
.existing buildings when windows are used to afford additional light in halls, pro- 
vided that such windows are stationary and frames are fireproof and glazed with 
wire glass. 

(f) That in three-story buildings where the bulkhead to the roof is omitted, 
fire escapes and balconies with connecting ladders be placed on the rear of the 
building in accordance with such regulations as may be adopted by the Tenement 
House Department. 

5. Measures to Prevent Room and Apartment Overcrowding. 

(a) That no room in any tenement house hereafter to be constructed shall have 
a superficial area of less than 90 square feet, and that in every apartment there 
must be at least one room whose superficial area is at least ISO square feet. 

(b) That no apartment in a tenement house or two-family house shall be so 
overcrowded that there shall be afforded less than 600 cubic feet of air space for 
every adult and 300 cubic feet of air space for every child under 12 years of age 
occupying such apartment, and that a penalty of a fine not lo exceed $25 attach 
for violation of this provision. The provision of the present Tenement House Law 



93 

regarding room overcrowding applies to rooms, but it is not feasible in the judgment 
of the committee to enforce tins in rooms, since they vary so in dimensions and 
cubical contents, and they therefore recommend that apartments instead of rooms 
be made the measure, of joccupancy. 

(c) That a placard should be posted by the Tenement House and Health De- 
partments in a conspicuous place in every apartment of tenement houses, and in two- 
family houses respectively, calling attention to the fact that the law forbids more 
than the stated number 'of adults and children to occupy the apartment, and to the 
penalty attaching to a violation of this law. 

(d) That no lessee of any apartment in any tenement house shall be permitted 
to take lodgers without notifymg in writing the owner or responsible agent of the 
tenement or dwelling, who shall immediately report to the Tenement House De- 
partment, and that a penalty not to exceed $25 shall attach for violation of this 
provision. 

(e) That the owner or responsible agent of every tenement or two-family dwell- 
ing be required to report to the Tenement House Department and the Department 
of Health respectively, any violation of the law against overcrowding on the part 
of his tenants where he is unable personally to prevent such overcrowding by serving 
the tenant with a written statement (of which the owner is to keep a copy J that he 
is violating the law, and the lessee of an apartment in a tenement house secure a 
license from the Tenement House Department and the lessee of an apartment in a 
two-family house secure a license from the Bureau of Occupancy m the Department 
of Health before taking lodgers. 

(f) That a Bureau of Occupancy be created in the Department of Health 
charged with the enforcement of the law against overcrowding in apartments in 
two-family houses. 

6. Measures to Promote Health and Safety. 

(a) That when in the judgment of the Tenement House Department the mini- 
mum requirement of window space and other means of ventilation required by the 
law are not sufficient to make rooms sanitary and habitable, said department shall be 
empowered upon a certificate being signed and certified by two medical inspectors as to 
the above facts to cause the vacating of said apartment or part thereof in the manner 
prescribed by law. 

(b) That a staff of medical inspectors who are qualified physicians shall be 
assigned by the Department of Health to the Tenement House Department, who 
shall pass upon all cases of vacating insanitary buildings or part thereof in which 
there may be any contagious disease or which is unfit for human habitation, except 
in the case of new tenements awaiting a certificate of compliance. 

(c) That the Tenement House Department of The City of New York shall at such 
times and in such manner as may to it seem best cause an inspection and examination 
to be made of all tenement houses in The City of New York, and wherever it shall be 
found that any_ such tenement house or part thereof is infected with contagious 
disease or that it is unfit for human habitation, or occupancy, or dangerous to life 
or health by reason of want of repair or of defects in the drainage, plumbing, light- 
ing, ventilation, or the construction of the same, or by reason of the existence on the 
premises of a nuisance likely to cause sickness among the occupants of said house the 
department shall issue an order requiring all persons therein to vacate such house or 
part thereof within not less than twenty-four hours nor more than ten days for the 
reasons to be mentioned in said order, and that the Board of Health should cause a 
similar inspection and examination to be made of all buildings other than tenements. 

(d) That the law requiring the whitewashing of tenement walls every year be 
vigorously enforced. 

(e) That in tenement houses not exceeding four stories in height and not having 
more than two famiUes on each floor, with courts of the width now required, a fam- 
ily be permitted to occupy the basement. 

(f) That the names of the owners of all buildings in the city should be posted in 
some conspicuous place. 

(g) That the Tenement House Commissioner should be made a member of the 
Board of Health with a vote on all matters pertaining to his department. 

Statements Submitted to the Committee on Housing Conditions. Regulation of 

Buildings and Locating New Settlements. 
A. Suggestions of Lawrence Veiller, of the Tenement House Committee of the Char- 
ity Organisation Society, to the Mayor's Commission on Congestion. 
I knowr of no way by which results can be brought about unless you put 
into operation some system like the "zone" system, or unless you enact different 



94 

regulations for different classes of buildings, providing, for instance, that where, say^ 
70 per cent, of the buildings in a given block are to be used for business purposes, then- 
no residences may be built, and vice versa, where 70^ per cent, of the buildings in the 
block are residence buildings, no business buildings shall be permitted. These things 
are easy to suggest, but difhcult to accomplish. There are some very serious constitu- 
tional questions involved. I take it that your commission is familiar with the decision 
in the case of Welch vs. Swazey, recently decided by the United States Supreme 
Court, in which the decision of the Massachusetts court was upheld. That decision, 
would seem to point the way for carrying out in New York some sort of a scheme 
of classification of buildings and the different regulation as to height at least of the 
different classes. But I believe that all buildings would have to be considered on the 
same basis in each section of the city; that you could not legally permit a hotel twenty 
stories high in certain parts of Brooklyn, and confine tenement houses in the same 
part to four stories in height. In other words, I think that all buildings used for 
residence purposes of any kind, in any "zone" system, must come under the same 
regulation, and that buildings used for business purposes could properly come under 
a different regulation. But beyond this I do not believe it is legally possible to go. 

Now, as to the exact proportion of the block to be left uncovered : From an 
ideal point of view 50 per cent, is desirable. This, of course, is impossible for Man- 
hattan and for some parts of The Bronx and Brooklyn. On the other hand, there 
are large sections in the northern part of The Bronx, also in Richmond and Qtieens, 
where this would be feasible to-day, and in all of our outlying districts it could 
easily be done. In the other districts the maximum standard should be as high as real 
estate values and public sentiment would permit. 

I understand there is a group of people in The Bronx who have been 
trying to change the tenement law in this regard for some years past. 
This would, however, be taking a backward step of thirty years. The law in 1867 ap- 
plied only to houses of four families or over, but in 1879 it was found that the worst 
class of tenements in the city was not being reached because of this limitation, and ac- 
cordingly the law was amended so as to include all houses containing three families or 
more. If any change is to be made it must be a step forward, and not a step backward, 
and we must look to the inclusion of the two-family buildings under the act if any 
change is to be made. This is the law in Chicago and in some other cities where all 
two-family houses are under the Tenement Law. 

Mr. Chairman : What do you think of the suggestions made by several people in 
The Bronx, that the requirements as to the thickness of walls, or certain other require- 
ments, should be modified so as to encourage the construction of three-family houses?' 

Mr. Chairman : I think it was to eliminate certain restrictions of the Tenement 
House Law as to bulkheads on the roof, and modifications of the vent duct so as to 
lead to the light court instead of to the yard or street where it is almost impossible 
without breaking up the entire cellar, and modifications as to brick filling where the 
wall is more than four feet away and details of that character which do not materially 
affect the sanitary conditions but yet reduce the structural cost of the building in such 
a manner that it becomes more, you might say, encouraging to the builder to build 
that type of house. That is, the idea taken is that the present Tenement House Law 
imposes an expenditure of approximately $750 for the average three-family house. The 
builder, where he erects such a house, does so on a very small margin and consequently 
increases the cost, in that manner reducing his chance of selling, and consequently the 
three-family houses are almost done for. 

Mr. Chairman : What would be the practical effect of the elimination of these 
restrictions? 

Mr. Veiller : Personally, I know of no restrictions at the present time upon the 
three-family house in the Tenement Law which have the effect of discouraging the 
building of these houses. I understand that one of the matters of concern is the bulk- 
head; that a great many builders and owners would like to get rid of providing bulk- 
heads in buildings of this class. The reason for this desire is that the builders want 
their houses to look like private houses, and not like a flat. As the houses are flats, 
with all the objectionable features of flats, I see no reason why that desire should be 
encouraged. But more important than this is the fact that the bulkhead is essential for 
the protection of the inmates in case of fire. Without a bulkhead the stairs cannot 
extend to the roof and the only means of access would be by means of ladder and 
scuttle. To my mind this would be an unsafe condition to permit in new houses, where 
there are three families and certainly as many as fifteen people in the house. The ob- 
jection that people thus enter a house and rob it is trivial, because, although the law 
prohibits the fastening of the bulkhead door with a lock, it distinctly permits its being 
fastened on the inside with a movab'^ bolt and hook. With regard to the intake, or 
duct, for ventilation in the inne' .Courts : These are essential and to my mind one of 



95 

the best features of the whole Tenement House Law. Without such ducts there can- 
not be adequate ventilation in inner courts. Generally speaking, I believe the weakest 
feature of the Tenement House Law as it stands to-day is the three-family house. The 
three-family house, and I refer to the new ones that are being built, are an absolute 
menace in case of fire. The stairs are wood, all the floor beams are of wood, the par- 
titions enclosing the stairs are of wood, nearly everything is wooden construction and 
extremely dangerous. From a sanitary point of view this type of house is also objec- 
tionable; the courts are entirely too small, the public halls and stairs are not lighted 
directly to the outer air, but can be quite dark and unventilated except by a roof sky- 
light. I do not believe this type of housing needs any further encouraging. If there 
is to be any legislation on the subject it should be in the nature of advance, and the 
three- family type of buildings should be made much better than it is from a sanitary 
and structural point of view. 

I understand Mr. Schaeffer to say that the present law imposes an extra cost of 
$750 on each house, and that this operates to prevent or discourage the construction of 
three-family dwellings. That may be the argument, but it is not the fact. These 
houses need no encouragement — they are building plenty of them, as you can readily 
ascertain if you look up the records. The root of the whole matter is to be found in a 
small coterie of builders, architects and owners in The Bronx who want to get away 
from the jurisdiction of the Tenement House Department. They want to be free from 
the regulation of that branch of the government. The whole issue really boils down 
to this, as j^ou will readily find if you make inquiry, and all their talk really amounts 
to nothing but arguments on which to hang their wishes. It is not a question between 
building three-family houses and five-story flats, but between building three-family 
houses and two-family houses. The effect of the present restriction, if it has any 
effect in discouraging building, is to force builders to build two-family houses where 
they otherwise would build three-family ones. By this means they do not have to- 
comply with any part of the Tenement Law, are not bothered by the Tenement Depart- 
ment, and are as free as they used to be before they were in the jurisdiction of the 
City at all. 

Mr. Chairman : Have you any suggestions to make as to how the construction of 
these small three-family houses can be encouraged by any changes in the law? 

Mr. Veiller : I don't think there is the slightest obstacle in the law to prevent their 
being built. They are being built in great numbers wherever land values make it worth 
while. I think if you will look into this matter you will find that the reason back of 
this agitation is that there are one or two individuals in The Bronx who have been 
building three-story houses ostensibly for two fainilies, not complying with the Tene- 
ment Law, and then later telling the purchaser that they can be occupied by three 
families. I think you will find that the people who have been most active in the agita- 
tion for this legislation have been involved in practices of this kind. 

Secondly: With regard to the demolition of present unsanitary structures of all 
classes in congested areas — Do you want to consider in this connection some of the 
European methods that have been employed in dealing with congestion? There is 
nothing that you can take up larger than this. You gentlemen realize that no plan of 
this kind can be carried out without strict regard to the financial side of it. When 
we realize that one tenement house block on the lower East Side is worth one and one- 
half million dollars it will be readily seen how little work of this nature can be done. 
The city, under our constitution, must pay for property so taken and it would not be 
long before the burdens imposed upon the taxpayers in work of this kind would be 
unbearable. Of course any such plan could be carried out only by the city, as no pri- 
vate individual could obtain the property necessary. 

Mr. Veiller : I never saw a building that needed to be torn down because it 
was unsanitary. I will qualify this by saying that what I mean is that if a building is 
unfit for human habitation because of unsanitary conditions, the proper remedy is to 
vacate it. If it is not fit for people to live in, don't let them live there. As long as a 
house stands empty it will do no harm to the community and there is no advantage to 
be gained by destroying it. Of course, in the case where there is a "school sink," that 
is a nuisance which should be abated ; similarly, if there are large openings in the plumb- 
ing, the house, even if unoccupied, might do harm to the community through the escape 
of sewer gas. But these are exceptional instances. I see, therefore, no value in tear- 
ing down individual unsanitary houses. The thing to do is to vacate them. Of course, 
if the City wants to wipe out congested areas and to do it on a neighborhood plan, that 
is a different matter. There is no difficulty in keeping a house vacant after it is once 
vacated. This is done through the police very effectively. 

Mr. Chairman : Do you think the regulations of the Tenement House Law when 



96 

it requires, for instance, the cutting of a window, makes the house fit for human habi- 
tation ? 

Mr. Veiller : This is a broad question. It is pretty hard to say just what con- 
ditions render a place fit or unfit for human habitation. I certainly do not think that 
the conditions you refer to ought to be permitted in the future, and if we had only 
one hundred houses like that in New York I should say unhesitatingly that we ought 
to vacate them, but with one hundred thousand windowless rooms, and two hundred 
and sixty thousand more dark rooms, not including the hundreds of thousands of 
rooms in the twenty thousand tenement houses which have no means of light and 
ventilation but small 28-inch air shafts, it would be practically impossible to enforce a 
provision which required the vacation of such houses. It would mean the displacement 
of almost the city's entire population ; certainly a very considerable portion of it. With 
regard to your question as to paying for property condemned by the city, section 1300 
of the Charter, to which I referred in my opening remarks, lays down in detail the 
methods of paying for property under different circumstances. I want to say in this 
connection that I have no doubt that some time in the future New York City will carry 
out schemes for the improvement of its slum areas on a large scale along the lines that 
have been carried out in Europe, but I do not think that the city is ready at the present 
day for such a plan. 

Mr. Chairman : As to the question of room overcrowding, do you know of 
any way by which improvements can be made except by the enforcement of existing 
'laws as to the minimum areas ? 

Mr. Veiller : I think this can be done by the enactment of a proper law, if en- 
forced. I am very glad to indicate what I think that law should be, but wish to say 
that such a law will never be enforced unless the public officials charged with this 
enforcement have much more popular support than they have now, and unless the 
judges of the minor courts, both civil and criminal, will heartily and enthusiastically 
assist. We have a law now limiting the number of cubic feet per person. This law 
is of little value. Our Tenement House Commission of 1900 did not enact it, but 
found it on the statute books and thought it wise to continue it because the public had 
got accustomed to this method of regulation, and also because they felt that it was 
a power which could be utilized effectively in extreme cases by the local authorities, 
though the Commission then recognized that so far as regulating room overcrowding 
generally was concerned it would not be very effective. 

My suggestion to regulate room overcrowding is this : That a new provision be 
added to the Tenement House Law to the effect that in tenements of a certain kind 
(and I should seek to define for this purpose the kind of tenements that we mean — 
excluding the elevator apartment, at least) no persons outside the immediate family, 
that is, no boarders or lodgers, should be permitted to be taken into the family without 
the consent in writing of the Tenement House Department, and L should make the 
owner responsible for the violation of this provision, and not the tenant. I know 
the ownei-s will strenuously object to this and will claim that they cannot exercise 
control over their tenants, but that is not so, they do exercise similar control. The 
law now makes the owner of a tenement house responsible for the moral character of 
his tenants and provides that in the case where a prostitute plies her trade in a tene- 
ment house the owner shall be liable if he does not eject her and stop the practice 
after due notice. With regard to my suggestion as to the prohibiting of taking in 
boarders and lodgers, it would be entirely feasible for the owners to put a clause in 
the lease and to print it. on the rent receipts, stating that the rooms may be occupied 
. by only so many people, and that no lodgers or boarders may be taken without the 
written permission of the Tenement House Department. That Department could 
have initial inspections and measurements made of the floor area, and cubic area of the 
rooms and could officially notify the landlords in writing of the number of people 
that they would permit to be lodged in the rooms in question. The Tenement House 
inspectors could then make night inspections among the tenants and, if they found the 
law to be violated, the landlords would be first warned in writing and then taken 
to court. By this means, I am firmly convinced that the great majority of the room 
overcrowding in the City could be in time wiped out. It is the taking of the boarder or 
lodger that makes most of the trouble and nearly all of the room overcrowding. Of 
course there will be for a while a great popular opposition to any such plan. The 
tenants now, many of them, profit by the present overcrowding and find it a source 
of revenue. But bear in mind what Commissioner Murphy said, that the tenants gen- 
erally know that they should not take in boarders or lodgers and generally have a 
guilty and apologetic air vvhen questioned about the number who are harbored. A 
great deal can be done in this direction, however, if you prohibit the taking in of people 
outside of the family. This is what causes nearly all of the room overcrowding. Tt 



97 

is not due to large families. There may be a few isolated cases of that kind, but 
they are the exception, not the rule. It would be helpful in the education process, 
undoubtedly, to put up signs in various languages, explaining what the provisions of 
such law are. The judges of the minor courts would have to be brought into a sym- 
pathetic attitude toward any such scheme before it could be carried out. 

Mr. Veiller : I would not bother with it. You can take such matters up twenty 
years from now when you have the boarder and lodger question settled. The evil 
from the large family is a negligible quantity. 

To return to the question of Hmitation of height of buildings : I quite agree with 
what has been pointed out by one of the previous witnesses, that there is an unfair 
discrimination in the fact that the Tenement House Law limits the building of tene- 
ments to one height and that the Building Law permits hotels and other residence build- 
ings to be built much higher. This is due to the fact that the Tenement House Com- 
mission, which drafted the Tenement House Law, had no authority to concern itself 
with other classes of buildings. I think the idea which Mr. Rudolph Miller worked 
out in the first Building Code revision, making certain classes of regulations apply to 
all classes of dweUings, was good, and that all height restrictions should apply alike to 
all classes of dwellings. There ought to be laws that would really restrict height. 
Outside of the Tenement House Law there are no such laws at present. The plan 
suggested by Mr. Ernest Flagg of a system of towers is to my mind one of the 
wisest suggestions of meeting the situation which exist in lower Manhattan that has 
thus far been made. The tall building has everything to do with the congestion of 
traffic and with the difficulties of our transportation problem, which in turn affect 
the living conditions of the working people. 

Allusion has been made to the plan of regulating height by a system of recession 
of the buildings, or, setting back the buildings at different stories. This plan is car- 
ried out pretty successfully in certain English and German cities. The Tenement 
House Commission of 1900 went over this matter very carefully and, after mature de- 
liberation, felt that it would not suit New York conditions, and that it would be better 
to have a minimum size yard that would extend from the ground to the sky, rather 
than to have the buildings set back at different stories. There are, however, many 
advantages to this scheme, and there are some disadvantages. The advantages are 
that the people on each floor have a sort of roof garden to live on, equivalent to 
the yard for purposes of light and air. The disadvantage is that these places are 
used for throwing rubbish of all kinds, and they rapidly become unsanitary and a 
nuisance. For my part, I would rather see in the outlying sections a straight yard of 
SO feet deep on the 100 foot lot. 

You have been talking about percentage of lot. I do not think that this mean.? 
anything or has any value as a method of regulation (except in one instance). The 
law now completely regulates the lighting and ventilation of rooms by specifying' the 
minimum size of courts and yards and providing for the increase of such dimension.* 
with an increased height of the building. Except in the case of the deep lot, which 
we do have in some sections of the city, the percentage clause has no effect; in fact^ 
in some instances it works unnecessary hardship. A man having a short lot is not per 
mitted under the law, because of the percentage clause, to build a house that is better 
than his neighbor may build on a deeper lot. You ought not to work in the considera- 
tion of this problem on a percentage basis. The thing to consider is the depth of the 
yard. Keep your building as shallow as you can. 

As to the restriction of the cubage of building, I do not think this is worth any 
thing. It might work hardship. Why you should restrict a man because he builds on 
a lot with a 300 foot frontage, instead of on a 100 foot frontage, I cannot see. The 
only two elements that you need consider are the height and the depth, but when you 
introduce the width, this third element is tmnecessary and may easily work hardship 

"Zone" areas I have touched on. With regard to people living in cellars or base 
ments, there are lots of cellars that are bad, but few basements. The law is entirely 
adequate to deal with cellars now. 

As to the standard for floor area, the number of cubic feet of space : I do not think 
you can increase this one foot in Manhattan, and that if you do increase it any ma- 
terial amount- you could no longer build tenement houses on Manhattan Island and 
make them pay; but in the outlying boroughs this ought to be increased. It is ridic- 
ulous to build new houses in such portions of the City with rooms 70 feet in size. This- 
should be increased to 90 feet, and where the law now says that at least one room 
shall contain 120 square feet, this should be increased (in these outlying boroughs, 
remember) to 150 feet. As a matter of fact, they do a good deal better than the law 
requires usually in the buildings erected in the outlying districts. With regard to three- 
<;tory frame tenements, I do not think there should be any. They ought to be kept 
down to two stories. Where land values are so low that people need to build frame 



houses there is no such pressure of population as to make necessary the building of 
tenements at all. 

As to your suggestion of some arbitrary standard about limiting the number of 
families that may be permitted to live on a 50-foot lot, I do not believe that such a 
provision would hold water for a minute. Unless you could prove to the satisfaction 
of the Court of Appeals that the mere presence of more than a certain number of 
people on that floor area was injurious to the community, your enactment would 
be of little value. Moreover, it would be impossible from a practical point of view 
to enforce compliance with such a provision. The effort to secure compliance would be 
more costly than the results would be worth. Moreover, you can accomplish directly, 
instead of by this indirect means, what you are seeking to accomplish by prohibiting 
the taking in of boarders and lodgers, as I have suggested earlier in my remarks. In 
this connection the law should be changed, as I have indicated in my book "A Model 
Tenement House Law," so that instead of a mandatory prohibition in every case, the 
matter should be left to the discretion of the enforcing officials. The existing law 
makes it impossible for a man and wife to sleep in a bedroom in a new-law tenement. 
This is, of course, ridiculous. 

_ As to the plan for grouping factories and other classes of buildings together in a 
neighborhood scheme, I am heartily in favor of it. It will take a good many years, 
however, I fear, to bring it about as a matter of local regulation. It happens strangely 
enough that naturally there is a greater grouping of this kind in New York City than 
in ariy other city in the United States that I know of. Our tenement districts are 
certainly in Manhattan very definitely located, and so are our business and residence 
districts. 

B — Statement by Hon. John J. Murphy, Commissioner of the Tenement House 
Department. 

Your first question was in reference to the proportion of uncovered area for each 
block. We have taken as an illustration the block bounded by 1st and 2d aves., and 
from 79th to 80th sts., which has been figured as containing approximately 132,225 
square feet. The minimum uncovered ai-ea required for the block, allowing four 
corner buildings 25 by 100 in size, each with a ten-foot yard and with no courts, was 
37,617 square feet. The total uncovered area of such a block, therefore, would be 
roughly, 28>4 per cent. I do not know whether we cover exactly the point you want, 
hut as far as the Tenement House Law is concerned, a block might be covered prac- 
tically to 72 per cent, of its area. This is allowing for the 90 per cent, corner lot 
and 70 per cent, interior lots. Is there any more information on this point that you 
wish ? 

Mr. Chairman : In the recommendation, what would be the logical reduction of the 
present area for bettering the present conditions? 

_ Mr. Murphy : Well, so far as I am concerned, I do not want to make recommen- 
dations — the standards are' so widely different. I know some people who think they 
are getting congested if someone moves on the same block with them, and I have 
known places where they object because people could see the front or rear of the prem- 
ises. So to attempt a recommendation would, it seems to me, or to express any opinions 
on the subject, mean only vague suggestions. I would rather attempt to furnish facts 
as to actually what the present situation is. 

Mr. Chairman : Has this Department the power to order the demolition of unsanitary 
tenement houses? 

Mr. Murphy : To this I would say that this Department has the right, but not 
the power. We have the power to vacate a building and I presume the Board of 
' Health has the power to order the removal of unsanitary buildings. We have close 
on to 100 buildings in New York vacated because of the presence of school sinks, 
where the school sinks had not been removed before the building was vacated, and 
we cannot proceed any further for lack of funds. We have sent a list of those places 
to the Department of Health, calling their attention to the continuance of the school 
•sinks where their continuance may be a menace to the health of the neighborhood. As 
to the benefit to be derived by putting these matters into the hands of the Tenement 
House Department, that is, allowing it the power to have demolished such buildings, I 
think it would be desirable to have an amendment which would give us the means 
to demolish unsanitary structures; to take these school sinks of which I have spoken, 
where they remain and we are unable to demolish them and their continuance is a 
menace to public health. I think we ought to have the means to do so, although, as I 
say, the Department of Health, having the power, it might be unnecessary to grve it 
to another department. 

Mr. Schaefifer : Commissioner Murphy, in Washington they have a separate Con- 
demnation Board which condemns unsanitary buildings regardless of the use to which 



99 

they have been put. Do you think, in view of the fact that there are many unsani- 
tary factories and private dwelUngs, that such a board would be feasible here, as far 
as it would relate to tenants? 

Mr. Murphy: As a matter of fact, there are no unsanitary occupied tenements 
to-day in the city, so bad as to justify their demolition. 

Mr. Schaeff er : What is your understanding of what would justify their demoli- 
tion ? 

Mr. Murphy : Where there are school sinks, or a shaky building, any building in 
such a condition as to threaten immediate injury to the occupants. 

Mr. Schaeffer: What about the dark rooms, or twihght rooms? 

Mr. Murphy : That would be a suggestion for new legislation which I do not 
think I want to make. 

Mr. Schaeffer: What is the percentage of lot area covering the tenement houses? 

Mr. Murphy : I believe that section 50 of the Tenement House Law permits 70 
per cent, of the interior lot and 90 per cent, of a corner lot. And, in section 59, it 
is possible to cover 72 per cent, of the lot in case of four-story houses arranged 
for not more than two families on a floor, while, on the other hand, a type of three- 
family houses is permitted to cover only 65 per cent., in the same section. There are 
very few of these in Manhattan. They are mostly in The Bronx and Brooklyn. 

As to the 70 per cent, giving suft'icient light area for the average six-story tene- 
ment house or apartment house, I think it does not, but there again it is simply a 
question of what is sufficiently adequate light. This has been a bone of contention 
since the organization of the Department. I have said that the only basis upon 
which it could be determined would be to take as a standard houses which have been 
erected in conformity with the Tenement House Law, and, assuming the surround- 
ings to have been in conformity with the law, wherever similar conditions prevail 
in old law houses, we would have to regard them as legal. At present the law says 
that these conditions are legal, and if we criticise it, it would be not on the law but 
on the facts. 

As to the question of the restriction of the height of a building to the angle 
of recession, can say that we have no restriction of the angle of recession, and 
as to the question of height only — that the house must not exceed 1^4 the width 
of the widest street on which the building is located. There is nothing about the 
cubage of the tenement house, nor does the law specify anything. The higher the 
building the greater the unoccupied space of yard — a foot is required for each addi- 
tional 12 feet. 

Regarding tabulations made of the average percentage of lot covered, say, by 
the new ten or twelve-story apartments, I took that question up not long ago, and 
if your Secretary makes a note of it, I will be glad to send my tables to you. 

In regard to basement and dwelling in cellars, it seems that basements may be 
regarded as cellars. The idea was that in a basement or cellar there shall be no more 
than one family on any_ floor. A basement is quite as good as any other floor for 
living purposes. There is no section of the law permitting same to be occupied only 
by one family. The cellars of new buildings are limited to a certain extent in this 
respect. Section 15 permits only one family in the cellar of the six-story non-fire- 
proof tenement where the grade is more than four feet in a hundred. Section 90 
permits only one family in the cellar of any new building. The law, however, con- 
tains no restriction as to the number of cellar apartments which may exist in a 
tenement erected prior to April 10, 1901. 

Mr. Chairman: Do you know what proportion of the 25,000 basement or cellar 
dwellings are in old and new law tenements? 

Mr. Murphy: I am not aware that it has been tabulated, but if it has been, I 
will communicate with the Committee. 

As to the question of floor area and cubic feet of space, where the law 
requires that no room shall be less than 7 by 10, with ceiling usually 9 feet, the 
cubical contents therefore allotted, according to another section, permits practically 
that room to be inhabited by an adult and a minor. That is, the average bedroom 
in the majority of tenements erected are therefore good for only that condition. Then 
when we turn back to another section regarding congestion, it leaves it in a vague 
condition as to the enforcement of the law. I have made some computations as to 
the actual number of people who may inhabit new-law houses, based on the com- 
putations of the cubic feet space in the house, so you can see exactly what the 
situation is. We are not permitted, of course, to determine what the rooms are to 
be used for — we would not consider pantries or bathrooms, but any other room 
may be used as a sleeping room. The minimum space permitted for such rooms by 
section 64 is 70 square feet, 9 feet in height, having a cubic contents of 630 cubic 



100 * 

feet. At least one room in each apartment must contain 120 square feet of such 
area. There is no restriction as to the number of families upon each floor in any 
case, irrespective of the lot area. We understand one new house in The Bronx has 
seventeen families on a floor. 

Mr. Chairman: I might explain to the Commissioner that the object here w^as 
mainly on the average 50 by 100 lot; that is, taking it on the basis of six stories in 
height and six families on a floor, as there are a number of them erected that way. 
That is, taking the entire block area — the computation made on the number of 
people tenanting would be in excess of the average of the requirements per acreage. 

Mr. Murphy : Here are the figures I have worked out, taking the plans of four 
typical buildings as to the number of, people who may be permitted to occupy them 
under the laws as they stand at the present time. The first was a house on the 
north side of 43d st., 200 feet west of 9th ave. — a six-story building, two apartments 
on the first, and three on each of the five upper floors. The lot is 24 by 100, five 
rooms deep. There are seventeen apartments in the building. The total cubic area 
in the building, excluding those things I mentioned as having 57,789 cubic feet, 
allow 400 cubic feet to each individual, and apportioning them in the way I spoke of. 
This indicates that the building might be occupied by 144 tenants. Another build- 
ing on W. 127th St., of similar size and general construction, can house 160 
adults within the law. Those are both what might be termed legal occupancy of the 
building on the 25-foot lot, so you can see how far it would have to go before 
an illegal congestion would arise. In the great majority of cases such houses are not 
occupied to this extent- In a six-story building on the 50-foot lot by 100 feet 
deep, we find there is legal accommodation for 321 adults, and another six-story 
building on a lot of the same width and depth gives legal accomm.odation for 341 
adults. 

I do not know that there is anything else about which the Tenement House 
Department can give you any information, but will be glad to do whatever I can upon 
request. 

Mr. Chairman : How much benefit would there be obtained by an increase of 
the size of the average bedroom, and what would be the approximate size of such a 
room? 

Mr. Murphy: I do not think I am prepared to give any infc^rmation on that 
question. I have had — and they are at the disposal of the Committee at any time — 
an inspection of the congested districts within the last two weeks as to people living 
there, and I find out there is more general knowledge of the legal requirements than 
I anticipated — that is to say, people (a great many of them) know they should not 
permit boarders and they volunteer to the Inspectors that there is no one living in 
this flat except the family and the agents instruct the families that they have 
authority to put them out if they transgress. And the number of families with 
sleeping accommodations which were found to exceed the total number permitted 
by law to live in apartments were very few. There were very few instances of more 
than the legal number. 

Mr. Chairman : Do you remember whether your investigatoi s found a good many 
rooms where the number of occupants exceeded the. number there should have been? 

Mr. Murphy : It seemed to me it was apparently a small percentage of the total 
number, but of the total number of houses visited in The Bronx there were apparently 
a few on the East Side that transgressed, T took some typical blocks and got one 
report which I have not yet had time to check up by the measurements as to what 
the actual situation permits, and that is the block bounded by Cherry, Oliver, Oak 
and Catherine sts. There are reported to be twenty-six tenement houses on the 
block. This is a small block, less than half the regular sized block. There were 
nearly 2,000 people, permanent tenants, on that block, and there was about 1,000 
of_ a floating population that boards there occasionally. Then in Harlem the question 
arises as to whether the occupancy, or in counting the occupants, we are to include 
people who occupy rooms on one-half time. We find double occupants in rooms 
where one group occupy in the day time and another at night time. That is also 
a question to be taken into consideration. 

The character of the tenement houses in such a block or blocks as I have spoken 
of, many of them, are the new two-room apartments such as they have been putting 
up down in the Roosevelt section. Nearly all of them have been built in the last 
eight or ten years. That looks to us as being about the most congested section at the 
moment. I have not all the figures and do not want to take up the entire time. 

Mr. Chairman: What suggestions have you to make to the Commission? 
_ Mr. Murphy : I said to Mr. Schaeffer that I preferred not to do this. As an 
individual matter it is one thing, and officially it is another, and I do not suppose any 



101 

man is as little likely to form or abstract an opinion as the man actually on the job. 

C. — Statement by Hon. Rudolph P. Miller, Supt. of Buildings. 

Light and Ventilation of Residence Buildings — The provisions of this section shall 
apply toall residence buildings, except tenement houses and lodging houses. 

Behind every such building hereafter erected there shall be a yard, extending 
across the entire width of the lot, at every point open from the ground to the sky un- 
obstructed, except that when there are no sleeping rooms in the first story or base- 
ment, the yard may start at the level of the second story floor beams. 

Except upon a corner lot, the depth of said yard measured from, the extreme 
rear wall of the building to the rear Une of the lot shall be not less than ten feet in 
every part, for buildings sixty feet or less in height ; and in the case of buildings 
over sixty feet in height, said yard shall be increased in depth six inches for every 
additional twelve feet of height or fraction thereof above sixty feet. 

In the case oi such buildings hereafter erected upon corner lots, no yard shall 
be required behind the buildings, provided, however, that this exemption shall not 
apply for a distance of more than fifty feet across the rear of the lot, measured 
from the street line. 

Whenever any such building hereafter erected is upon a lot which runs through 
from one street to another street, a yard shall be provided the full width of the 
lot, midway between the streets and of the depth and height as in this section pro- 
vided for interior lots, except that when said lot is less than seventy feet in depth 
a yard need not be provided. 

If any building is hereafter placed on the same lot with a residence building 
there shall always be maintained between the said buildings an open, unoccupied 
space across the entire width of the lot, extending from the ground upward to the 
sky, of a depth equal to twice that required for the yard of a residence building of 
the height of the highest of the buildings; except that when there are no sleeping 
rooms in the first story or basement the open space may start at the level of the 
second story floor beams. 

No such building shall be hereafter enlarged or its lot be diminished, so that 
the yard shall be less in depth than is prescribed for buildings hereafter erected. 

No court used for the lighting or ventilation of a sleeping room in any build- 
ing hereafter erected shall be less than five feet in any dimension; and for every 
additional twelve feet of height or fraction thereof above sixty feet there shall be 
an increase of six inches in such dimension. 

_No such court of any building hereafter erected shall be covered by a roof or 
skylight, but shall be at every point open and unobstructed to the sky. 

No offset from any court shall be used for lighting or ventilating a sleeping 
room,_ unless such offset is at least four feet wide and its depth does not exceed 
its width. 

For the purposes of this section the measurements of a court shall be taken at 
the ground level, except that where such building is partly used for other than 
residence purposes, they may be taken at the level of the floor beams of the lowest 
story used for or containing any sleeping rooms. 

No such building shall be hereafter altered or enlarged, or its lot be diminished, 
so that any court shall be of less dimension than herein specified for buildings 
hereafter erected. 

No court to be used for lighting or ventilation of any sleeping room shall here- 
after be placed in any building unless such court conforms to the requirements 
herein specified for courts of buildings hereafter erected. 

In any building hereafter erected every sleeping room shall be provided with 
a window or windows, opening directly upon a street, yard or court. Each such 
window shall be not less than twelve square feet in area between stop heads, and 
shall be so arranged that it can be opened to the extent of at least one-half its area. 
Such sleeping room shall be in every part not less than eight feet high from the 
finished floor to the finished_ ceiling. Such sleeping room shall be not less than 
seven feet wide for one-half its length and shall contain not less than six hundred 
cubic feet of space. 

No sleeping room that does not conform to these requirements shall hereafter 
be placed in any building. 

No sleeping roorn shall be hereafter placed in any cellar or in any basement, 
the ceiling of which is less than two feet above the curb. 

Light and Ventilation of Mercantile Buildings— The provisions of this section 
shall apply to Mercantile Buildings located on lots fronting on. a street and having 
a greater depth than seventy feet. 

The provisions of this section shall also apply to such Public Buildings and 
Special Structures as the Superintendent of Buildings may deem necessary. 



102 

Behind every such building hereafter erected, unless in this section otherwise 
provided, there shall be a yard extending across the entire width of the lot, at every 
point open to the sky. 

The depth of said yard, measured from the extreme rear wall of the building 
to the rear line of the lot, shall be not less than ten feet in every part, for build- 
ings sixty feet or less in height ; and in buildings over sixty feet in height, said 
yard shall be increased in depth six inches for every additional twenty-four feet of 
height, or fraction thereof, above sixty feet. 

When any such building is located on a lot which runs through from one street 
to another street, the said yard shall be provided midway between the streets, across 
the entire width of the lot. 

When any such building is located on a corner lot, no yard need be provided 
behind the building, provided, however, that this provision shall not apply for a 
distance of more than fifty feet across the rear of the lot, measured from the street 
line. 

In case more than seventy-five per cent, of the area of the block in which such 
building is hereafter erected is occupied by other than residence buildings, no yard 
need be provided behind the building, but in lieu thereof there shall be provided an 
interior court or courts having an aggregate horizontal area equal to that of the 
yard otherwise required. 

No such court shall be less than ten feet in any dimension, and for every addi- 
tional twenty-four feet in height, or fraction thereof, above sixty feet, there shall 
be an increase of three inches in such dimension. 

No such court shall be covered by a roof or skylight, but shall be at every 
point open to the sky. 

For the purposes of this section, the measurements for yards or courts may be 
taken at the level of the second story floor beams, but never more than twenty feet 
above the curb. 

No such building shall hereafter be altered or enlarged or its lot be diminished, 
so that the yard or any court shall be less in depth or dimension than herein speci- 
fied for buildings hereafter erected. 

D. — Mr. I. N. Phelps Stokes, representing the Nezv York Chapter of the Ameri- 
can Institute of Architects, and a member of the De Forest Tenement House Com- 
mission of 1901. 

In response to a request from the Chairman that he make a general statement 
of his views on the housing situation in New York, with suggestions for improving 
the existing conditions, Mr. Stokes outlined a plan submitted to the Tenement House 
Commission and embodied in their report, for condemning individual blocks in the 
most congested districts, demolishing the old tenements and other buildings and 
selling strips forty feet wide on the longer frontages on which private capital should 
erect buildings two rooms deep and five stories high of the simplest design and 
construction ; the central strips, about one hundred and twenty feet wide and from 
four to six hundred feet long, open at the two ends, to remain the property of the 
City and to be laid out as small public parks. 

It was found that in this way two-thirds of the population of one of the most 
congested blocks in the city could be rehoused under ideal conditions without in- 
creasing the rents. This would, of course, require legislation permitting excess 
condemnation, which Mr. Stokes said he considered almost the rnost important step 
which could at this time be taken to secure better housing conditions. 

Mr. Stokes stated that it would take a very bold Commissioner to order the 
demolition of unsanitary buildings, and that most of_ them can_ be repaired and 
made sanitary and habitable. He further stated that, in his opinion, the most im- 
portant work which can be accomplished for better housing is to reduce rents, even 
at the sacrifice of some space and convenience in apartments. 

The present minimum limits of the Tenement House Law are adequate in most 
respects, although it might be desirable to increase the dimensions of one room in 
each apartment. 

Mr. Stokes stated that in general he did not believe in having^ revisions to the 
Tenement House Law which would increase the cost of construction, or lirnit the 
development of new types of plans; indeed, he believed that some relaxation of 
the present law in these respects would be desirable. 

Some form of districting the city would be feasible, and better standards should 
be strictly enforced in the boroughs outside of Manhattan. 

One defect of the Tenement House Law is that it does not differentiate in tene- 
ment buildings between rooms on a street and rooms on a court or yard — i. e.,_ rooms 
should be judged by their relation to the space from which they derive their light 
and air, quite independent of the question as to whether they happen to be above 



103 

or below the level of a curb, which may be hundreds of feet away, and which can 
have no effect upon their lighting and ventilation. Seventy square feet is a suffi- 
cient minimum superficial floor area for bedrooms, and it is better in general to 
divide a given space into a greater number of small rooms rather than into a lesser 
number of larger rooms. 

The low degree of intelligence brought to bear upon the planning of tenements 
is surprising, and most of the plans filed with the Tenement House Department 
show, to a lamentable degree, lack of thought, effort, experience and abiUty to get 
the best results under given conditions. 

An effort should be made to stimulate the development of new types of plans. 
To this end competitions should be encouraged and model tenements built by private 
capital. 

The use of new and more economical materials and methods of construction 
should be encouraged, and every legitimate means should be taken to economize in the 
design and construction of tenements. 

Mr. Stokes stated that he would like to see Architects licensed, and that he 
believed that this would have some effect m improving the types of tenement house 
plans. 

/7. — Statement by Mr. George B. Ford, Architect. 

The subject assisned me, "Housing Reform in New York," is rather misleading. It 
would probably be better to call it "Housing Reform out of New York."_ The trouble 
is that an adequate solution of the Housing Problem in New York, particularly Man- 
hattan, is impossible. You know well what the problem is ; how intolerable are present 
conditions. It is needless to tell you farther about the lack of air and sunlight, with 
all its attendant evils, which characterizes so much of New York housing. You have 
been through that time and time again. I believe that you are much more interested 
in receiving suggestions for relief from this state of affairs. To that end, I would 
esteem it a privilege to be allowed to submit for your consideration certain ideas which 
my recent trips abroad have brought me to believe are quite adaptable to our conditions. 
No matter where I went, no matter whom I talked with, I came away with the 
same impression, an impression of the marked centrifugal tendencies of city housing, 
the tendency toward the single house set in its own garden ; everywhere that was the 
goal toward which all city housing reformers were striving. Nowhere was it more 
strongly brought out than at Vienna, at the Ninth International Housing Congress. 
There 1,400^ delegates, representing all the countries of Europe, unanimously concurred 
in regarding this as the only real solution of the problem. 

Think what this means; the charm of the home bathed in sunlight from morn till 
eve, gay with many flowers round about, sheltered by trees which break the raw cold winds 
of winter, yet do not hinder the cooling breezes of summer. Everywhere is that much 
sought "Light and Air" distributing freely its health-giving qualities to all. Here 
life is a joy: a life worth living, free from that dreading of the morrow which so 
often obsesses the tenement dweller in his sordid cell of bricks. Little wonder if the 
father stays at home, for here there is a place for him to work where he may feel 
that everything he does is for the good of his family. And a happy family it is, too. 
Why shouldn't it be, where the children may play to their hearts' content free from 
the danger and dirt of the street, revelling in space and in nature. Free scope is given 
to their imaginations. Play becomes spontaneous and natural and, so. healthv. All of 
which relieves the mother of much bother and worry; a contrast to the tenement bar- 
rack. What a delight for a family to be alone; no one prying in at all hours of day 
and night. What a gain to the decency of family life. No piano overhead, no carous- 
ing party below, but all quiet and peace, glorious nights to sleep in, glorious holidays 
to rest in. Nor is the air poisoned with the fetid dust of the street or the rottir^g 
garbage of the court; instead that nostril satisfying freshness of free air purified by 
the leaves; perfumed by many flowers. Think what it must mean in increased effi- 
ciency on the part of the workers who are fortunate enough to live under such conJi 
tions. Think what it must mean to the mother raising a family. 

And that garden, too, is a source of joy, for what tastes better than ^the 
vegetables, fresh from one's own garden, raised under one's own watchful care. Thc>- 
mean, too, a saving in the food bill while they last and they help in another way 
too, for those very vegetables and flowers assist powerfully in fostering a community 
spirit. Neighbors get together to swap experiences, their very troubles form an easy 
bond of sympathv, and so there grows a feeling of common interest, which soon ex- 
tends to all the affairs of the settlement. So the town is begot, so citizens are made, 
men capable of entering earnestly and sympathetically into the civic life of the com- 
munity. Nor does it stop with the man. What better start in life could the child 
have than to pass his early years amid such surroundings. Every incentive is opened 
to him to lead a normal life. Thrift abounds; he soon learns tn save; self-respect is 



104 

everywhere evident. He soon learns habits of cleanliness. He learns instinctively tu 
love the country so that he can never become more than a passing tolerator of tene- 
ment life. He is fortunate in his family lite, for it is a unit; wholesome in its integ- 
rity. All, parents and children, become imbued with a sense of responsibility which 
makes for steadfastness and rightmihdedness. Dissension gains little foothold, for all 
are too occupied to find fault. Social unrest is tempered and good citizenship abounds. 
_ Last but not least, the death rate drops markedly, and the hospitals go begging for 
patients. The police courts grow idle. The poorfarms seek only for occupants. The 
city budget falls, the tax rate decreases. 

However, it is one thing to talk about country life, the joys of which most of us 
know full well, and quite another in finding how to bring people out to it. As is only 
natural, people do not care to live far from their work. After a hard day in town, one 
cannot be expected to spend a long weary hour or two jammed into an already burst- 
ing train, only to be forced out long before daybreak to repeat the torture back into 
town again. Much depends on this question of transit. Every device capable of mov- 
ing crowds back and forth easily and cheaply should be investigated. A plan should 
be made vv'hich would take account of the probable growth of the city far into the fu- 
ture. Main radial lines for traffic should be determined; lines connecting the outlying 
points should be provided for. Sites for public buildings, parks, squares and play- 
grounds should be laid out. And as the city extends up to these points care should 
be taken to see that property owners conform to these plans. It is most interesting to 
see what England is doing along this line under her new Town Planning Act, what 
Germany is doing in many of her towns, and how France is even contemplating mak- 
ing this town extension planning compulsory. 

It is all very well to make these plans and to work out an ideal transit scheme, 
but the great majority of workers are not going out unless their means of livelihood 
goes too. Shops, distributing houses and certain factories, in particular those for the 
manufacture of seasonable goods, have to remain in town, but nearly all the other 
factories are free to move out. The remission of the whole or part of the taxes on 
the factories coming out has been declared unconstitutional. Communities can do 
little in the way of offering cheap land or special privileges. It is useless to talk to 
manufacturers about the increased efficiency of labor in the country. The chief way 
he can be reached is through his pocketbook. He can be reached on that side in one 
most important W2.y, and that is through cheaper and better transportation and storage 
facilities. This implies the working out of a big comprehensive system of through 
and connecting tracks, yards, sidings, terminals, and distributing points of harbors, 
docks and canals, with all their connections with the former; of freight subways and 
trolley routes; of teaming routes for motor or for horses with all their connections 
with the through routes. How interestingly some of the German towns like Hamburg 
or Bremen have solved these problems. 

Nor is it enough to attract the factories out to outlying regions. Unless some- 
thing more is done, the great horde will continue to live in its huddled East Side and 
commute out to the factories. The workers must be educated. They must be shown 
in eyery way that can reach their imagination the overwhelming advantages of living 
outside, and, more than that, they must be shown exactly where to go and how to get 
there, and to overcome their considerable inertia they should be given a little shove 
to start them off. 

Even after they are once out there the battle is not won. They must be made to 
stay. They have given up much when they have left their crowded quarters. They 
must be given that which will compensate for their loss. As far as possible, they 
_ should be located near others of their own race and tongue. The social life of the 
congested city district, the variety and attractiveness of the amusements and recrea- 
tions more than make up, in the opinion of most of the dwellers, for the hardness of 
life in the cramped city home. There are many suggestions for supplying this deficit 
in the outlying districts. England in particular is full of them. The terms "Neigh- 
borhood Centre," "Social Centre," "Social Club," "Social Hall," "Community Hall" are 
full of possibilities. Through their mediumship wholesome and attractive recreation 
can be and is provided for the community. Nor is it doled out to them,' as it might 
sound, but rather it is provided by the residents themselves. During the evening there 
are all the features of social club life, games, music, reading, talks, moving pictures, or 
what not; during the day there is tennis, croquet, bowling and whatever may be the 
national sport of the people of the district. 

The child has far better opportunities for healthy physical development, but unless 
considerable attention is paid to the school question he will miss much as compared 
with the crowded city region. However, in America, we do not need to worry about 
this, for this is usually one of tlie things we do best. 

There are other things to be considered too ; shops, stores and markets. The 



105 

residents must not have to go into town for their commodities. They should be 
right at hand and central ; a problem which has been so admirably worked out in 
many of the English suburban communities. 

Again protection against burglary, fire, etc., is a whole problem in itself, finding 
its solution in adequately lighted streets and an efficient fire and police force. 

Once we have induced the workers to come out to our suburbs the great ques- 
tion remains as to how and by what means we are going to house them. Many 
schemes have been tried, but most of them work far more to the advantage of the 
•owner of the property than they do to that of the tenant. Yet they can be made to 
work to the great advantage of the tenants, and at the same time, pay a reasonable 
return to the owner of the land. I beg to be allowed to describe the housing move- 
ment that has been having such a phenomenal growth recently in England. I refer 
to the Garden Suburb and Garden City movements. 

The English Garden Suburb is a co-partnership community, in which each of the 
tenants, instead of owning his house and land buys shares in a co-operative company, 
which owns and operates the Avhole community. A central body in London, called 
the Co-partnership Tenants, Limited, gives great assistance in the formation of a 
local society, and secures a government loan on two-thirds of the value of the land 
and property, at an interest rate 3 1-2 per cent per annum. This central body then 
finances loan stocks, which pays 4 per cent, per annum and a share stock which is 
to be purchased by the tenants and which pays a maximum of 5 per cent, per annum.' 
The prospective tenant of a house is required to buy this share stock to the value of fSO, 
but he is required to pay only five or ten pounds down. Any profits that accrue to 
the society — and after paying all charges and interests, the usual amount is between 
5 per cent, and 10 per cent. — are paid back to the tenants in the form of share stock. 
When the tenant possesses £50 worth of share stock, he receives a money interest on it. 
He is expected to continue to purchase share stocks up to a value equivalent to that 
of his house and land. The rents on the houses are similar to those on other houses 
in the same general district, but the tenant in one of these copartnership suburbs has 
the great advantage of knowing that under the terms of the foundation of the so- 
ciety there can never be more than twelve houses to the acre. Further, every part of 
the community is designed for the use and enjoyment not of the individual but of the 
whole body. A scheme for the whole acreage is laid out at the beginning, and all 
future roads and all future buildings must conform to this layout. Spaces are re- 
served for public buildings, civic, social, educational and religious. Spaces are also 
reserved for parks, playgrounds, tennis courts, croquet lawns, bowling greens, etc. 
Space is strictly set aside for stores and offices. A planting scheme is arranged for 
the streets, trees are set out, the houses are made to conform to certain lines which 
will give the best general effect. In the working out of all these plans, and in the 
•carrying on of the life of the community, the tenant has full say, for the tenants 
elect -a committee who has charge of the affairs of the community. 

When such a community is started in connection with a large industrial estab- 
lishment, it is technically known as a Garden Village. It differs from the garden 
suburb only in that one man provides most of the capital for its launching. This man, 
h iwever, must be careful to do everything he can to make the tenants feel that the 
place is theirs, and that they are not being patronized by their employer. 

The third of these communities is called a Garden City. This is a self-contained 
community, with all the means of existence forming an integral part of it. It is laid 
•out along similar lines, and carried on in a similar way to that of the above-described 
Garden Suburbs. It differs in two marked features, one is that a great proportion of 
the area of the town is set aside for all time for farm allotments with the idea that 
every dweller in the centre of the community shall have permanently on the out- 
skirts, a tract reserved for raising vegetables and flowers. The other feature is that 
a space to the leeward of the town is permanently reserved for factory sites, this 
tract being in proximity to the railroad. The first Garden City at Letchworth, Eng- 
land, has grown in six years from nothing to a communit}'- of 6,000 inhabitants, with 
several streets of stores and offices, and a large district covered by some twenty fac- 
tories. The place is sound financially, and has proved a most desirable place to live in. 

In general, the Garden City and Suburb idea, has been one of the most rapid and 
healthy growth, the Co-partnership Tenants, Ltd., have already $5,000,000 invested in 
these communities, and this is only a part of the total capital invested in them. There 
are not only some 20 of these suburbs in England with as many more in prospect, 
but all through the continent of Europe, in Germany in particular, similar communi- 
ties are being formed. At the International Housing Congress in Vienna, the one 
thing on which all delegates agreed was the desirability of forming such communities 
as a solution of the housing problem. In Germany they have carried it one step fur- 



106 

ther, and are using the capital which the government accumulates on its great system 
of workingmen's sick insurance to loan out at 3 per cent, up to the value of 80 per cent, 
to 100 per cent, of the land and houses in these copartnership suburban communities. 
Thus, they are using the money which is saved to cure sickness and to prevent the 
same. The best feature of these communities is the fact that the tenant himself 
receives all the advantage of the unearned increment of land values. At Letchworth 
this has already amounted to over 50 per cent, of the original cost of the land. A 
tenant is independent for he can hold his property as long as he wants. Further, it 
accomplishes great good in that the tenants through their interest in the general com- 
munity life, develop an interest in city affairs, and thereby become the best of citizens. 

Despite the desirability of living outside the city, there are still many people to 
whom this is impossible. There are many who must remain in the crowded tenement 
districts. That being the case we are bound to give them as many of the advantages of 
the country as possible. The present building code of New York City has made long 
steps in this direction and great credit is due the men who are responsible for it. 
Realizing the difficulties they had in obtaining as much as they did, there are only a 
few minor items that we can suggest, where the code could be immediately improved. 
If windows_ were required to be larger, it would help greatly in the admitting of more 
light and air in the rooms. If the arrangement of rooms was insisted upon so that 
in a given suite there could always be a through ventilation from street to court or 
from yard to yard, it would materially improve its habitableness. Agam, if a reason- 
ably large opening were made at the street level between the yard or street and 
the court, it would permit air to draw up through the interior court in a way that 
now is impossible. Aside from these immediately possible changes it would, of 
course, be desirable to increase the number of cubic feet required for a person from 
400 to 600 at least, and also to increase the proportion of the lot left vacant. 

None of these suggested changes, however, really come down to the root of the 
whole matter. We have been shown that sunlight and air kill the germs of disease, 
in particular those of tuberculosis. It is most desirable that a certain amount of sun- 
light should come into every room of every apartment every day in the year. What 
this minimum should be is difficult to determine, but it is possible to have at least 
one-half hour's sunlight in every rooln, even on the shortest day of the year. M. A. A. 
Rey, of Paris, has shown that if tenement and streets are run north and south it is 
possible to have sunlight everywhere even though the streets be comparatively nar- 
row, so on a New York City block, if rows of five or six-story tenements, two rooms 
deep are run paralleled with the avenues, it is possible by leaving twenty feet clear 
space between these rows for the buildings to occupy 70 per cent, of the lot, as now 
allowed, and at the same time give this half hour of sunlight in every room, even on 
the 21st of December. This half hour is the minimum, and most of the time the 
rooms would receive far more than this. Such a scheme would not be possible on a 
typical city block, divided, as it now is, by 25 by 100 lots. It would also necessitate 
the waiving of the present building law requirement of a yard to be reserved at the 
rear of the tenement. If the buildings covered only 50 per cent, of the lot, those open 
spaces between the lines of the tenements might be 30 to 35 feet wide. Those open spaces 
are full of possibilities for public social use. They give an excellent place for the 
children to play where they may be under the watchful eyes of their mothers in the 
apartments above. At the same time they are away from the danger and dirt of the 
public street. These open spaces may be made most attractive with lawns, flower- 
beds and shrubbery, and they may be shut off at the street ends with trees which 
would not only give privacy, but will add considerably to the effect by means of alter- 
nating buildings and trees, so seen when looking down the street. This means con- 
slderablein the way of cleanliness, for every thing is open to the inspection of the 
city officials. Furthermore, much less dust and noise would penetrate into the interior 
of the tenements. Further, this isolation of buildings in groups means a considerable 
gain in the possibilities of fighting fire or conflagration. As the buildings are two 
feet deep, and as every apartment extends through from front to back, an excellent 
circulation of air is everywhere possible. Such an arrangement means a great 
deal in the way of privacy, and the development of family life. It is beheved that 
such tenements could be built at a cost very little more than of the present dumbbell 
type, providing at the same time nearly as much rentable space. 

After all this whole question of housing reform is one of business interest. Con- 
sider the amount of money which the city budget annually allots to hospitals, tuber- 
culosis sanitariums, asylums, poorfarms, reform institutions, including courts, jails 
and reformatories, and to the police and fire department and then consider how, after 
the city has spent considerable money in curing a person from the tenements, they 
send them back with the instructions to get as much sunshine and air, knowing all 
the time that this sunlight and air is almost impossible to find. Little wonder is it 



107 

then that the person again becomes a charge upon the public. If the people were 
properly housed everyone agrees that quite a little of this expense could be reduced. 
Capitalize this reduction and apply it to the forming of Garden Suburbs or the scien- 
tific improving of tenements and would it not far more than pay for itself purely as 
a financial proposition. The one thing that the city as a city can do to help this 
would seem to be the providing of adequate transit and transportation, so and only 
so can the city decentralize its dwellers. So and only can housing reform be made 
effective. 

Chairman Cantor : What proportion of the funds in copartnership housing opera- 
tions is provided by the State? 

• Mr. Ford: Generally two-thirds and one-third is private capital although some- 
time private capital furnishes the entire amount as in Earswick, Doncaster, and Wolver- 
hampton where some special interest, colliery or factory, has started it and given the 
capital. 

Among the things that could be done to lessen the evils of congestion one would 
be to provide more space for windows and let apartments run through from streets to 
courts or courts to yards so as to give opposite openings into the air. In the bor- 
oughs where the street maps had not been finally made and adopted, streets should be 
made to run as nearly north and south as possible and the blocks between these should 
allow for dwellings only two rooms deep. 

Chairman Cantor : What would you do with the worst tenements in New York 
now? 

Mr. Ford : We would undertake building operations on a large scale in the new 
boroughs and the buildings should be constructed two rooms deep from street to 
alley. The buildings being preferably not over four stories high. These should not 
cover more than 70 per cent, of the lot. The intervening open space could be used for 
common meeting and recreation places such as are not provided under the present 
law. The mothers would have an opportunity to watch the children at play in a way 
not possible at present. 

Mr. Cantor: Would it be possible for the city to condemn every third house? 
Mr. Ford : This would not give more sunlight in , rooms unless window space ij 
increased. There should be a large opening to street or yard at the base of the court 
so that the latter may act as a funnel to such fresh air up through it. 
Mr. Schaeffer : How large a court opening would you suggest? 
Mr. Ford : Indefinite without experiment, several times the present opening which 
is 3 by 7 feet. 

Mr. Schaefi^er: Should this be made at or below the street level? 
Mr. Ford : If you open it large enough it can be made below the street level. 
The tenement house problem must be dealt with as a Greater New York problem 
because it is not possible to deal with it exclusively as a Manhattan problem since 
conditions in the other boroughs differ so greatly. 

Chairman Cantor : Has there been much immigration from London or do out- 
siders now settle there? 

Mr. Ford : Both movements of population have occurred. For instance, in the 
demolition of dwellings the people dispersed have to a certain extent gone out into 
outlying boroughs. Many people who come from the city settle in the outlying bor- 
oughs. London almost uniquely stretches out gradually and there is no sudden break 
Irom tenements 5 to 6 stories high to open country. 

In London transit lines are better arranged and tend to distribute population. In 
Birmingham it is true that many people come into the centre of the city from Bourne- 
ville and Harborne. 

The Secretary : Is it not true that the good distribution of oopulation is due also 
to the fact that factories are better distributed than in New York City? 

Mr. Ford : Yes: That is a very important cause in that it saves carfare. That is 
an important item in the workingman's budget. 

In London the two-penny rate runs out to Hampstead for workingmen. 
Ernest Flagg, Architect, 35 Wall Street. New York. January 30, 191L 



108 

Address by Prof. Stanley D. Adshead, Head of the Liverpool University Depart- 
ment OF Civic Design, Before the New York City Commission on Congestion 
of Population, Thursday Afternoon, August 25th, in the City Hall. 

"Standards of Efficiency." 

Nothing is so apt to break up one's opinions as regards what constitutes the mini- 
mum requirements for public control so as to insure efficiency, safety and satisfactory 
hygienic conditions, like a visit to a neighboring country where other standards are 
maintained which differ from those to which one has become accustomed. It is my 
privilege at the present moment to be enjoying for the first time a visit to the United 
States and to see here your accepted standards, in particular those which refer to 
the public safety in matters of construction, transportation, hygiene and the mainte- 
nance of streets, parks and public places of all kinds. A new view always carries 
with it a strong impression and as such may have value. I therefore take the liberty 
briefly of putting before you some of my impressions of the things which I have seen 
since I arrived in New York. 

I would prefer that my observations would be entirely complimentary, but if so 
they might be insincere, and rather than this I prefer to risk the consequences which 
befall those who, though sincere are yet uncomplimentary. 

The City of New York is to be congratulated upon having instituted the Com- 
mission on Congestion. I note that the Congestion Committee has outlined its inves- 
tigations under the following heads : 

First — The present congestion of population and room overcrowding throughout 
the city. 

Second — The economic and administrative causes of congestion. 

Third — The methods now employed in this country and abroad for relieving and 
preventing congestion. 

Fourth — Transit facilities and their relation to congestion. 

Overcrowding of Manhattan exists almost to the extent of two-thirds more 
than in any European city. This to my mind is due directly to the peculiar conditions 
of its position, it being practically an island and directly to the immense value of land 
and lack of foresight shown by "the public authorities in the immediate past. Of course 
when we talk of 1,600 to the acre in New York and 600 in London, we must not over- 
look the fact that New York possesses an exceptionally healthy climate and com- 
paratively wide streets. 

New Tenement House Law Inadequate. 
At the same time even admitting this no argument can convince that a tenement 
building code is satisfactory which allows a tenement to be erected to a height of 150 
feet in a hundred-foot street with as much as 70 per cent, of its area covered, the 
remaining 30 per cent, being an area not more than twelve feet wide up to a height 
of 60 feet and for the rest only a few feet wider. 

Natural Light Shut Out of New Law Tenements. 

It has been my privilege to visit many of your new law tenements and it was 
very distressing to find that natural light was quite out of the question in most of the 
rooms overloking these areas, artificial light being used during the whole of the day. 
I hold no brief for the European slums, rather the reverse, but I am afraid that in 
the matter of admitted requirements as regards light and air in England and Ge.rmany, 
there is no question but that the standard set by New York is infinitely too low. 

In the New York slum my impression is that the occupant cannot be described as 
poor, they are exceedingly well dressed, well fed and clean in their person. When 
compared with the slum dweller in England the cleanliness and tidiness of their rooms 
are bej'ond all question superior. Certainly New York shows no appearance of either 
poverty or distress such as are evidenced in British towns. 

No doubt the owners of real estate in New York as in other countries, especially 
Germany, are holding up their property on a fictitious and artificial basis if the land 
continue to be used for tenements for the working population. The real value of any 
site depends not upon artificial conditions which a short-sighted policy has fenced 
around it, but upon its appropriate use as regards 

a. Class of building. 

b. Efficiency with which, when erected, the business of the building is con- 
ducted, and these always accompanied by sound hygienic conditions. 

It appears to me that the solution of the New York problem is to advocate as far 
as possible : 

1. The removal of all factories and businesses out of the restricted area of 
Manhattan wherever such businesses can bo carried on elsewhere. 



109 



2. To encourage in every possible way the construction of more arterial lines 
of communication, particularly by subway. 

3. To open up all undeveloped and desirable land within twenty miles of the. 
City of. New York by constructing new lines of communication and so decentralizing" 
the city. 

There will ever remain a large class who wish to reside next to their work in 
the town.^ This being so we must take care and see that such dwellings are hygien- 
ically satisfactory in every way, but our immediate interest should concern itself with 
the erection of dwellings in the outlying districts. 

The policy of the London County Council during the early years of its adminis- 
tration as also the policy in Liverpool and other large provincial towns, has been to 
pull down and reconstruct to improve conditions in the matter of their housing and 
without much regard to the appropriate use of the site or its possible more appropriate 
use for business purposes; but it has been found that this has been a mistake and 
New York would do well not to fall into the error of these towns. 
The English Town Planning Act. 

At first sight this appears to be an act which will promote the development of 
new towns,_but this is not quite so, as actually it is restrictive rather than constructive. 
It is essentially a supplement to the local by-laws, further restricting the use of land. 
It is an adoptive act and applies to land likely to be used for building purposes so it 
practically may cover all unbuilt-on land around the town. In its application it means 
that the local authority may decide entirely the use to which the owner may put his 
land. The local authority is empowered to control the width and direction of all 
streets, the use to which the land may be put, whether for cottages, factories or busi- 
ness premises. The exact wording of the act is "the height and character of the 
buildings aijd the number which may be erected on each acre." 

I understand that you have in the City of New York approximately 
103,000 tenements, and responsible for their sanitary condition you have some 300 
inspectors, I consider this number to be totally inadequate, having regard to the over- 
crowding which is sure to exist. In some twelve tenements I have myself inspected, 
the areas were littered with refuse and fetid matter which must vitiate the air and 
be very dangerous to the occupants of the back rooms. 

Elevated Boisterously N'oisy. 

Your overhead railway will no doubt be removed in due course. New York needs 
more wood block streets and should pay more attention to the question of reducing 
the noise. 

Nezu York Architecture Finest in the World. 

The architecture of New York is the finest of any wooden architecture in the 
world. Unlike England and Germany, and to some extent, France, New York and 
its_ street architecture is never trivial, everything is on a grand scale. Your tall 
buildings are a credit to your ingenuity. 

In your building constructions, you are far ahead of all the other nations in the 
world. 

From the economic standpoint no doubt, more control will shortly have to be 
exercised as regards the distribution of your tall blocks, else not only will the indi- 
vidual suffer but the city at large. 

Summary of Tenement Conditions, June 30, 1910. 

Number of Tenements, ' New Law Old Law 

June 30, 1910. Total No. Tenements. Tenement.s. 

Manhattan 41,773 4,243 37,530 

The Bronx 7,800 2.480 5,320 

Brooklyn 48,207 8,063 40,144 

Queens 4,533 1,965 2,568 • 

Richmond 553 9 544 

New York City 102,886 16,760 86,106 

Number of Apartments, June 30, 1910. 

Manhattan 511.029 107,712 403,317 

The Bronx 76,994 , 41,358 35,636 

Brooklyn 250.260 67,807 182,453 

Queens 18.828 8,294 10,534 

Richmond 2,049 53 1,996 

New York City 859.160 225,224 633,936 



110 



Proportion of Population Living at a Given Density, 1910. 









Percentage 






Percentage 


of Total of 


District. 


Population. 


of Total of 


Greater 






Manhattan. 


Nev^r York. 



Manhattan, Wards 10, 11, 17 375,316 

Manhattan, Ward 13 64,651 

Manhattan, Ward 7 102,108 

Manhattan, Wards 4, 9, 14; Brooklyn, 
Ward 16 192,745 

Manhattan, Wards 6, 8. 16, 19, 20, 21; 

Brooklyn, Wards 5, 6, 21, 27 743,036 

Manhattan, Wards 12, 15, 18, 22; Brooklyn, 
Wards 10, 13, 14, 15, 19, 25, 28 1,450,838 

Manhattan, Ward 1 ; Brooklyn, Wards 1, 
2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24 506,197 

Manhattan, Ward 5; Brooklyn, Wards 8, 

12, 18, 26 330,949 

Manhattan, Wards 2, 3 ; Brooklyn, Wards 
29, 30, 31, 32; Richmond, all Wards; 
Queens, all Wards; The Bronx, consid- 
ering this Borough as a whole 1,001,023 



Over 600 to the Acre. 

16% 
500 to 600 to the Acre. 

2% 
400 to 499 to the Acre. 

4% 
300 to 399 to the Acre. 

200 to 299 to the Acre. 



150 to 199 to the Acre. 
100 to 149 to the Acre. 

50 to 99 to the Acre. 

49 to 25 to the Acre. 
Under 25 to the Acre. 



7.86% 
1.34% 
2.11% 



4.03% 
15.57% 
30.43% 
10.73% 

6.94% 

20.99% 



Population of Each Borough in New York in 1900, 1905, and 1910, and Density Per 

Acre. 



Population Density 

Borough. 1900. Per Acre 

Manhattan 1,850,093 

The Bronx 200,507 

Brooklyn 1,166.582 

Queens 152,999 

Richmond 67,021 

Greater New York 3,437,202 



Population Density Population Density 
1905. Per Acre. 1910. Per Acre. 



131.8 


2,112,380 


149.8 


2,331,542 


166.1 


m 


271,630 


10.4 


430,980 


16.5 


23.48 


1,358.686 


27.27 


1,634,351 


32.89 


2.4 


198,240 


2.6 


204,041 


3.7 


1.8 


72,845 


1.9 


85,969 


2.34 


16.4 


4,013,781 


19.1 


4,766,883 


22.7 



Increase of Population in Each Borough in New York from 1900 to 1905 and 1905 to 
1910, and Increases in Density Per Acre. 

Increase Increase 
Increase Density Increase Dens- 
Borough Population Population 1900 Per Population 1905 ity Per 
1900. 1905. to 1905. Acre. 1910. to 1910. Acre. 

Manhattan 1,850,093 2,112,380 262,287 18.7 2,331,542 219,162 15.6 

The Bronx 200,507 271,630 71,023 2.7 430,980 159,350 6.1 

Brooklyn 1,166.582 1,358,686 192.104 3.79 1.634,351 275,665 5.5 

Queens 152,999 198,240 44.828 .2 284,041 85,801 1.1 

Richmond 67,021 72,845 5,698 .1 85.969 13,124 .3 

Greater New York 3.437,202 4,013,781 576,579 2.7 4,766,883 753,102 3.6 



Ill 



Heights of Tenements for Which Plans Were Filed in the Tenement House Depart- 
ment from July 1902 to December 31, 1910. 



Borough. Total. 

Manhattan 4,723 

The Bronx 3,822 

Brooklyn 12,211 

Queens 2,915 

Richmond 36 

New York City. . 23,707 



1-story. 2-story. 3-story. 4-story. 5-story. 6-story 



More 
than 

6-story. 



33 

550 

1,286 

3 

1,872 



4 

590 

6,804 

1,436 

31 

8,865 



11 

770 

4,121 

170 

1 

5,073 



786 
1,862 

544 
17 

3,209 



567 
185 . 
.... 

4,500 



175 
'"7 

'i82 



Classification of Old Law Tenements According to Structural Changes Prescribed 

by Law, June 30, 1910. 



Boroughs. 



Number in 
which re- 
quirements 
have been 
met. 



Number 

in which 

orders to 

make changes 

have been 

issued and 

are now 

pending. 



Number still Total 
subject to Old Law 
structural Tenements, 
orders. 



Manhattan 10,054 11,201 16,275 37,530 

The Bronx 1,984 1,035 2,301 5,320 

Brooklyn 2,777 9,422 37,945 40,144 

Queens US 188 2,265 2,568 

Richmond 21 47 476 544 

New York City 14,951 21,893 49,262 86,106 



Number of Dark Rooms and School Sinks Remaining in Old Law Tenements, June 

30, 1910. 



Boroughs. 



Rooms 
opening 
on air- 
shaft less 
than legal 
size. 



Rooms with 
window 
less than 
legal size 
opening to 
adjoining 
room. 



Rooms 
opening on 
covered 
shaft. 



Rooms 
without 
windows. 



School- 
sinks or 
privy 
vaults. 



Basement 

dwellings 

Jan. 1, 

1910. 



Manhattan .... 8,221 32,442 58,334 

The Bronx .... 607 489 2,004 

Brooklyn 13,506 52,998 63,118 

Queens 625 3,345 1,290 

Richmond .... 28 225 66 

New York City 22,987 89.499 124,812 



25,753 

987 

55,208 

3,274 

211 

85,443 



632 

12 

246 

576 

92 

1,558 



14,797 

1,953 

7,117 

490 

91 

24,448 



Number and Proportion of Tenements Erected in Brooklyn from 1902 to 1907, Inclu- 
sive; Accommodating Three to Over Twenty-eight Families. 



Families. 





Proportion 


Number 


. of Total. 


1,653 


24.93% 


345 


5.27% 


365 


5.57% 


1,806 


27.57% 


250 


3.82% 


1,147 


17.51% 


180 


2.74% 


25 


0.39% 


22 


0.33% 



3 
4 
5 
6 
/ 
8 
9 
10 
11 



112 



Families. 

12 

13 

14 '. 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

Accommodating more than 22 families. 



Proportion 
Number, of Total. 



49 
14 
47 
19 
65 
25 
66 
12 
52 
56 
154 
198 

6.550 



0.74% 
0.21% 
0.72% 
0.29% 
0.99' ' 
0.39%. 
1.01% 
0.19% 
0.79%. 
0.86%. 
2.35% 
3.02% 



Number of Families on Each Floor of Tenements for Which Plans Were Filed — 
January 1 to December 31, 1909; January 1 to December 31, 1910. 

New York 
Manhattan. Bronx. Brooklyn. Queens. Richmond. City. 



1 family per floor, 1909. 
1910. 


2 
9 


62 
33 


193 
128 


22 
34 


2 


281 
204 


Total 


11 


95 


321 


56 


2 


485 


2 families per floor, 1909. 
1910. 


34 
19 


375 
335 


669 

O r- r- 

3oo 


211 

155 


2 

1 


1,291 

865 



Total 

3 families per floor, 1909 

1910. 

Total 

4 families per floor, 1909. 

1910. 

Total .' 

5 families per floor, 1909. 

1910. 



Total.. 
6 families per floor, 



1910. 

Total 

More than 6 per floor, 

1909 

More than 6 per floor, 

1910 

Total 

Total, 1909 

Total, 1910 



53 


760 


1.024 


366 


3 2,156 


33 


68 


40 


3 


144 


22 


89 


14 


7 


132 


55 


157 


54 


10 


276 


107 


194 


80 


4 


385 


46 


261 


44 


7 


358 


153 


455 


124 


11 


743 


88 


112 


6 




206 


30 


161 


10 




201 


118 


273 


16 




407 


72 


63 


9 




144 


41 


70 


9 




120 


113 


133 


18 




264 


114 


17 


5 




. . 136 


50 


15 


1 




66 


164 


32 


6 




202 



450 
217 



891 
964 



1.002 
561 



240 
203 



2,587 
1.946 



Total. 



667 



1.855 



1,563 



443 



4.533 



It will be noted that in Manhattan only about one-tenth of the tenements had one 
or two families per floor, in The Bronx one-half, in Brooklyn four-fifths, in Queens 
all but one-twentieth, in Richmond all. 

In Manhattan, however, less than one-sixtieth of the tenements had one family 
per floor, in The Bronx about one-eighteenth, in Brooklyn over one-fifth, in Queens; 
one-eighth, in Richmond two-fifths. 



113 



Height of Buildings by Stories for Which Plans Were Filed During 1909 and 1910. 



Total. 



More than 
2-story. 3-story. 4-story. 5-story. 6-story. 6-story. 



Manhattan, 

Total 
The Bronx, 

Total 
Brooklyn, 

Total 
Queens, 

Total 
Richmond, 

Total 
New York City, 



1909 
1910 



450 
217 



38 



309 
119 



n 

57 



1909 
1910 



1909 
1910 



1909 
1910 



1909 
1910 



667 




1 


6 


102 


428 


130 


891 
964 


1 
1 


59 
25 


302 
309 


445 
567 


84 
62, 




1,855 


2 


84 


611 


1,012 


146 




1,002 
561 


58 
38 


496 
249 


416 

252 


15 
7 


17 
12 




1,563 


2 


84 


611 


1,012 


146 




240 
203 


90 

48 


124 
126 


25 
29 


1 






443 


138 


250 


54 


1 






4 
1 


1 
1 


2 








1 



1909 



New York City, 



1910 



Total 



5 

2,587 
1,946 
4,533 



2 
150 



238 



682 

400 

1,082 



736 

593 

1,329 



525 

612 

1,137 



420 
193 
613 



1 

74 

60 

134 



Including Wards 


Section Below 14th Street. 
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13,. 14, 15 and 17. 


Ar^a. 


Percentage 
of Manhattan. 


Density Percentage of 
per Acre. Greater New York. 


2,418.5 A. 


17.22 


1.15 


Population, 
1905. 


35.13 




742,135 


306.8 18.48 


Population 
1910. 


32.99 




769,300 


318. 16.13 


Assembly Di 


Industrial Condition, 1906. 
stricts Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16. 


Area. 


Percentage of Percentage of 
Manhattan. Greater New York. 


2,717 A. 




19.35 1.29 


No. of Workers. 
321,488 




66.71 48.50 











114 
























Manhattan. 














Tenements of 


indicated Number 


of Stories 


in Height 


in Wards 


of 


Manhattan and 






23d Ward 


of The Bronx. 


























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1 

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53 


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7. 56 


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366 


"6 


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8. 39 


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618 153 163 


82 


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9. 4 


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1,512 619 473 


90 


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10. 88 


89 


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224 


12' 


















11. 73 


59 


350 396 751 


492 


9 


















12. 298 


687 55,182 3,595 6,335 


1,081 


259 


is 


9 


'7 


'2 










13. 45 


53 


151 142 416 


165 


6 


















14. 1 


45 


133 112 263 


109 


16 


















15 


67 


414 356 142 


57 


14 


"i 


2 




33 










16. 263 


237 


883 1,112 550 


47 


18 








7 










17 


87 


568 648 804 


284 


11 


'l 


i 














18. 65 


147 


595 1,075 727 


168 


18 


2 


2 


'5 












19. 500 


473 


847 2,589 6,033 


3,549 


520 


59 17 


12 


'9 


6 


'3 '2 '. 






20. 133 


174 


930 1,317 770 


44 


91 


















21. 125 


277 


786 1,962 864 


142 


36 


17 




'5 


'3 


'3 




.' '1 


22. 265 


550 


1,875 3,841 3,021 


246 


188 


21 29 


14 


6 


22 


"3 "5 


9 1 








The 


Bronx. 














23. 1,725 3,928 


3,316 1,380 1,505 


306 


1 
















t 






'_ -* 


A Comparison 


of the Proportion of Block 


3 that 


are 


Built 


Upon . 


solidly or 


tha 




Have 


Only a Specified 


Proportion 


of the 


Site Not Bui 


It Upon. 




(a) 


n Manhattan, by sections. 


















(b) 


;n part of the Twenty-third Ward of The 


Bronx. 










(c) ] 


n Brooklyn, by sections. 
























Un 


der 














Over 


Sections. 


Solid. 


5% 


5-10% 


11 


-15% 


16-20% 


21-30% 


307c 


? 


Manhattan. 




















1. Below 


Cortlandt and 




















Maic 


en Lane 8 


45 




18 






3 




3 


1 


Per cent, total section.. 11.42 


64.3 




25.7 






4.3 




13 


1.4 


2. Between Cortlandt and 




















Mai 


den 


lane and 




















Chambers, New 




















Chambers 


and James 




















Slip 




13 


113 




16 


9 




1 




3 


c 


Per cent, total section . . 8.34 


76.9 




10.9 


6.1 


0.7 




2.0 


3.4 


3. Between Chambers and ' 




















James Slip 


and Canal, 




















Division and Grand.. 26 


100 




46 


21 




28 




36 


27 


Per cent, total section.. 13.95 


38.8 




17.8 


8.1 


10.9 




13.9 


10.5 


4. Between Canal, Division 




















and Grand and Hous- 




















ton . 


streets 


7 


16 




14 


22 




75 




86 


31 


Per cent, total section. 2.86 


6.6 




5.7 


9.0 


30.7 




35.0 


12.7 





115 



Sections. Solid. 

5. Between Houston and 

8th St., Christopher, St. 
Marks pi. and Green- 
wich ave 8 

Per cent, total section.. 5.03 

6. Between 8th St., St. 

Marks pi., Greenwich 
ave. and Christopher 

St. and 23d st 11 

Per cent, total section.. 3.72 

7. Between 23d and 42d.. 14 
Per cent, total section. . 5.18 

8. Between 42d and 125th. 20 
Per cent, total section.. 2.11 

9. North of 125th... ..... ... 

Per cent, total section 

Bronx. 
Part of 23d Ward, bounded 
by Harlem River, 149th 
St., Melrose ave., Webster 

ave. and 170th st. .._. 7 

Per cent, total section. . 2.79 
Brooklyn. 
Ward. 

First 14 

Second 27 

Third 1.8 

Fourth 3.5 

Fifth 24 

Sixth 11.0 

Seventh 9.0 

Thirteenth 11.0 

Fourteenth 1^ 

Fifteenth 5.8 

Sixteenth 6.3 

Seventeenth 2.2 

Nineteenth 3.8 

Twentieth 2.0 

Twentv-sixth 1.0 



Under 

5% 



5-10% 11-15% 16-20% 



Over 
21-30% 30% 



27 


22 


29 


29 


43 


9 


17.0 


13.8 


18.2 


18.2 


27.1 


. 5.7 


39 


34 


23 


52 


117 


25 


13.5 


11.7 


7.9 


17.9 


40.4 


8.6 


32 


48 


32 


48 


91 


18 


11.0 


17.9 


11.9 


17.8 


33.8 


6.7 


22 


32 


34 


153 


539 


170 


2.3 


3.3 


3.56 


16.2 


56.8 


18.0 




2 


9 


44 


97 


9 




1.2 


5.6 


27.3 


60.3 


5.6. 



4 


9 


11 


17 


79 


130^ 


1.56 


3.49 


5.27 


6.60 


30.68 


50.67 


7 


4 


9 


14 


22 


30 


5 


12 


7 


9 


13.5 


26.5 


6.2 


4.5 


10 


9.5 


26.0 


42.0 


7.5 


5.0 


8.5 


6.2 


29.0 


40.3 


8.0 


9.5 


10.0 


8.5 


21.0 


19 


12.0 


7.0 


2.5 


7.5 


22.0 


38.0 


9.5 


6.0 


3.3 


3.2 


31.0 


38.0 


12 


5.5 


9.3 


12.5 


■ 37.4 


17.0 


5.0 


5.5 


4.3 


10.3 


27.1 


40.1 


6.2 


4.9 


8.1 


3.5 


22.5 


49.0 


6.3 


5.1 


5.1 


3.2 


23.0 


51.0 


5.5 


5.5 


5.8 


7.0 


39,9 


34.1 


2.6 


2.6 


3.8 


9.0 


51.9 


26.3 


4.1 


3.9 


8.5 


10.5 


26.4 


44.6 




1.0 


0.6 


0.5 


4.4 


92.5 



Proportion of Total Number of Persons Accommodated in Tenements Erected in 
Each Ward of Brooklyn from July, 1902, to December 31, 1907, inclusive. 



Ward. 



Persons. 



Ward. 



Persons. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 



360 



734 

432 

778 

2,665 

11,884 

5,148 

486 

50 

126 

5.341 

882 

3,128 

9,891 

5,395 



18 8,775 

19 4,860 

20 689 

21 12,218 

22 6,952 

23 3.294 

24 18,796 

25 8,068 

26 60,062 

27 10.804 

28 15.867 

29 6,322 

30 3.842 

31 648 

32 4.689 



Total 213.178 



116 



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118 

Summary of Tenement House Law for Cities of the First Class in New York State 
Relative to Size of Rooms and Overcrozuding. 

70. Rooms. Size of. — Excepting water closet compartments and bathrooms in 
each apartment there shall be at least one room containing not less than one hundred 
and twenty square feet of floor space, and each other room shall contain at least 
seventy square feet of floor area. Each room shall be in every part not less than 
nine feet high from the finished floor to the finished ceiling, provided that an attic 
room need be nine feet high in but one-half its area. 

71. Al(?ove rooms must conform to all the requirements of other rooms. 

97. Basements and Cellars. — No room in the basement or cellar of any tene- 
ment shall be occupied for living purposes except under conditions stipulated; such 
room shall be at least nine feet high in every part from the floor to the ceiling and 
the same regulations as to floor area are in force. 

There are about 25,000 basement dwellings in New York. 

112. Overcrowding. — No room in any tenement house shall be so overcrowded 
that there shall be afforded less than four hundred cubic feet of air to each adult, 
and two hundred cubic feet of air to each child under twelve years of age occupy- 
ing such room. 

Under this law a three-room apartment with a height of nine feet in the clear 
:may consist of : 

Only 260 square feet floor area. 

Only 2,340 cubic feet. 

One room 10 by 12 feet, and two rooms 7 by 9 feet. 

In this apartment may live legally two adults over 12 years of age and six minors 
under 12 years of age, a total of eight persons in three rooms, or two and two-thirds 
per room — one and one-half persons per room is a reasonable standard, therefore, 
the law permits nearly 50 per cent, of overcrowding. 

References on Percentage of Lot Area to he Occupied in Other American and iii 

Foreign Cities. 

New Jersey. — No tenement house can occupy more than 90 per cent, of a corner 
lot, or more than 70 per cent, of an interior lot. 

The Connecticut law, Cleveland, Baltimore and Washington all limit the occu- 
pancy of corner lots to 90 per cent. 

Chicago permits lots bounded on three sides to occupy 90 per cent., but limits 
all other corner lots to 85 per cent. 

San Francisco provides that tenements may occupy 95 per cent, of corner lots 
50 feet or less in width, but only 75 per cent, of the excess over 50 feet of other 
corner lots. 

Connecticut, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington limit the occupancy of in- 
terior lots to 75 per cent., Baltimore to 70' per cent., and Cleveland to 65 per cent. 

London Yards. — There must be provided at the rear of every dwelling house an 
open space exclusively belonging to it of an aggregate extent of not less than 150 
square feet. In all cases the open space must be at least 10 feet wide and extend 
throughout the entire width of the building. In the case of corner lots the council 
may permit the erection of buildings not exceeding 30 feet in height upon such part 
of the space in the rear as they may think fit, provided they are satisfied that its 
erection will not interfere unduly with the access of light and air to neighboring 
buildings. 

Courts. — Where a court is wholly or in part open at the top but inclosed on every 
side, and constructed for the purpose of admitting light or air, and the depth from 
the eaves or top of the parapet wall to the ceiling of the ground story exceeds the 
length or width of the court, the owner of the building must make adequate provi- 
sions for ventilation by means of communication with the outer air. 

Glasgow. Open Spaces. — Provision for open spaces is secured by requiring that 
in front of at least one-half of every window in sleeping apartments there must be 
an open space equal to at least three-fourths of the height of the wall in which the 
window is placed from the floor of the apartment to the roof of the building, meas- 
uring such space in a straight line perpendicular to the plane of the window. 

Manchester — Closed courts or areas open only at the top, into which windows 
open, must be equal to at least one-half of the height measured from the window 
sill to the eaves or top of the parapet of the opposite wall. If one side of a court 
or area is open, windows opposite the opening will satisfy the requirements. 

Toronto, Canada — Open Spaces. Every tenement or dwelling house must be so 
located and orocted on the respective premises as to provide at least 10 per cent, of 
the area of the lot free from all obstruction from ground to sky, but in no event 



119 

shall such area be less than 300 square feet. Angular corner lots, abutting lots and 
extend from street to street may be excluded from the above restrictions. 

The proportion of the lot area to be occupied by tenements varies in different 
districts of most large German cities, just as the height and number of stories does, 
and lower tenements and larger yards are required in the outlying sections of 
cities where land values are low. 

The proportion of the lot area to remain unoccupied, i. e., devoted to courts 
and yards, ranges as follows : 

Munich— From 1/3 to 1/2. 

Cologne — From 1/4 to 3/5. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main— From 1/3 to 1/2. 

Dusseldorf — From 1/3 to 3/5. 

Mannheim — From 1/4 to 3/5. 

Hamburg — Before every wall of a building containing windows not lying on 
the street there must be left a space equal to one-third of the height of the wall, in 
the town, and two-thirds in the suburbs, and this space must have an area of 211.3 
square feet. 

Vienna — Usually 15 per cent, of the lot area must be devoted to yards and 
courts. In special cases different regulations are prescribed by the building police. 

The New English Town Planning Act permits cities to restrict the number of 
cottages to from 10 to 20 per acre. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main ranges from a maximum height of 65 feet 6 inches, not 
to exceed the width of the street by more than 6 feet 6 inches, to three stories, not 
to exceed a height of 29 feet 6 inches, on streets of this width, otherwise the height 
may not exceed the width of the street. 

Cologne ranges from five stories and mansard in the centre of the city to two 
stories and mansard. 

Dusseldorf ranges from five stories to three stories. 

Vienna ranges from six stories to three stories, and under certain conditions to 
two stories. 

London— The height of dwelling houses (any building used for human habita- 
tion) must not exceed 80 feet, exclusive of the stories in the roof, without the consent 
of the council. If a dwelling house is erected on a street less than 50 feet wide, its 
height must not exceed the distance from the front wall to the opposite side of the 
street. 

With reference to the height of such buildings in relation to the space at the rear, 
London employs the following novel plan : 

An imaginary line called "the' horizontal line" is drawn at right angles to the 
roadway through the middle of the building to intersect the boundary of the open 
space at the rear of the house furthest from the roadway. Then a second imaginary 
line called "the diagonal line" is drawn from this point of intersection above and in 
the same vertical plane as the horizontal line and inclined at an angle of 63j4 degrees 
with it. 

No part of the building can extend above this diagonal line except chimneys, 
dormers, gables, turrets or other architectural ornaments. Further instructions for 
drawing the diagonal line are included in the law for exceptionally irregular sites. 

Glasgow — No tenement or building used as a dwelling house shall be erected, the 
front walls of which shall exceed in height the distance between the building lines of 
the street. 

Manchester — Buildings on streets less than 30 feet wide are limited to two 
stories. On streets not less than 36 feet wide they are limited to three stories. 

Liverpool — Tenements facing on a street must not exceed in height the width of 
the street. Houses built on a court must not exceed 30 feet in height, nor contain 
more than two stories above the ground floor. Liverpool also adopts the same plan 
as London with reference to the height of buildings in relation to the space at the 
rear. 

Paris — Height is determined by the width of the street. Width of street, 7.8 
metres (25 feet 7 inches) or under, height of building, 12 metres (39 feet 4 inches) ; 
width of street between 7.8 metres (25 feet 7 inches) and 9.74 metres (31 feet 11 
inches), height of building, 15 metres (49 feet 2 inches) ; width of street between 
9.74 and 20 metres (65 feet 7 inches), height of building, 18 metres (59 feet) ; width 
of street, 20 metres, height of building,_ 20 rnetres (Act of July 23, 1884). 

This same act provides that buildings in no case may contain more than seven 
stories. The height of the first story must be not less than 2.8 metres (9 feet 2 
inches), and the height of other stories not less than 2.6 metres (8 feet 6 inches). 

Berlin — The height of houses fronting on a street may equal but not exceed the 
width of the street between building lines, but they may not be higher than 72.18 



120 

feet. The rear buildings must never exceed in height by more than 19 feet 6 inches 
the width of the open space in front of them. Buildings intended for tenement 
houses must not exceed five stories nor the floor of the top story be more than 57.4 
feet above the sidewalk. 

Toronto, Canada — All buildings intended to be used as apartment or tenement 
houses exceeding 55 feet in height must be of the first-class fireproof construction 
throughout. No tenement can exceed 100 feet in height. No wooden or frame 
building intended for human habitation can be erected to exceed 35 feet in height. No 
tenement or other dwelling house can be erected on a street less fhan 35 feet wide. 

Hamburg — The usual height of a building may not exceed 97 feet 6 inches in the 
case of gable, and 78 feet in the case of other walls, while the front wall may not 
be higher than the width of the street in the suburbs, though in the town and St. 
Pauli it may exceed the width of the street by 19 feet 6 inches. 

References on Size of Rooms and Overcrowding in Other American and in Foreign 
Cities — Rooms, Area, Height, etc. 

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Chicago and Baltimore all require that 
every apartment shall contain at least one room with not less than 120 square feet 
of floor area, and that all other rooms except water-closets and bathrooms must 
contain at least 70 square feet of floor area. 

Cleveland and San Francisco require one room of 120 square feet floor area, 
the rest to contain 80 square feet; and Boston requires one with 120 square feet, 
and the others to contain not less than 90 square feet floor area. 

New York, New Jersey and Baltimore require habitable rooms to be 9 feet in 
the clear from floor to ceiling, although Baltimore allows cellar rooms to be 8 feet. 

The Connecticut law, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco require them 
to be 8 feet 6 inches. 

The Pennsylvania law, St. Louis, Providence and Grand Rapids require them to 
be 8 feet. 

Cities uniformly require attic rooms to be the required height only throughout 
one-half their area. 

New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Baltimore make the same requirements for 
alcove rooms as for other rooms. Boston requires an opening equal to 80 per cent, 
of the area of the side of the room, to the main room, and a window at least 15 
square feet in area. Cleveland requires the opening to be equal to one-half the side 
of the room, but never less than twice the width of an interior door. 

In London — Every habitable room except rooms wholly or partly in the roof must 
be at least 8 feet 6 inches in height. Rooms wholly or partly in the roof must be 
at least 8 feet in height. 

As regards buildings on its own property the London county council requires 
the minimum superficial area of a roomed tenement to be at least 144 square feet. 
A two-roomed tenement must have one room of 144 square feet and one of at least 
96 square feet in area ; a three-roomed tenement, one room 144 square feet, two 
rooms 96 square feet. For a four-roomed tenement the fourth room must contain 
at least 100 square feet. 

Glasgow — Every room on the basement or street floors of a tenement must be at 
least 9 feet 6 inches in height, and all others, except attic rooms, 9 feet. Attic rooms 
must be 8 feet high throughout one-half their area. Cellar rooms must be at least one- 
half the level of the street. 

Manchester — Every room except bathrooms or sculleries or attic rooms must be 
9 feet high. Bathrooms and sculleries must be at least 8 feet high, and attic rooms 
must be 9 feet throughout two-thirds their area and not less than 5 feet throughout 
the other third. 

Liverpool — Every house (apartment) must have at least one living room which 
contains 120 superficial feet and at least half in number of the sleeping rooms con- 
taining 108 square feet, provided that in the case of dwelling houses "with a frontage 
of 15 feet" and containing six rooms, the rooms used as bedrooms shall not be less 
than in the case of the first bedroom, 120 square feet; in the case of the second, 95 
square feet and in the case of the third, 72 square feet. All rooms must be 9 feet 
high from the ceiling. 

BerUn — Habitable rooms must be at least 8.2 feet in height and the floor not 
more than 3.2 feet below the level of the ground. 

Mr. Lawrence Veiller, in his "Model Tenement House Laws," suggests that in 
each apartment there shall be at least one room containing not less than 150 square 
feet of floor area, and each other room shall contain at least 90 square feet of floor 
area, and each room shall be in every part not less than 9 feet high from the finished 
floor to the finished ceiling. 



121 

Toronto — Every sleeping room must contain at least 400 cubic feet for every 
person over 12, and 200 cubic feet for every person under 12 years of age. The 
Medical Health Officer, or any Sanitary Inspector, may enter any tenement or lodg- 
ing house at any time of day or night, where there is reason to believe there is 
overcrowding. 

In Mannheim (Germany) every adult and child must have at least in living rooms 
343 _ cubic feet,_ and in the dwelling or apartment as a whole 686 cubic feet, and 
similar regulations exist for most large German cities. 

Reference to the Heights of Tenements Permitted in Other American and in 

Foreign Cities. 

New Jersey, Chicago, Baltimore and Cleveland limit the height of tenements to 
one and one-half the width of the widest street on which the building stands. 

San Francisco places no limit on fireproof structures, but limits all others to one 
and one-half times the width of the street. 

Boston places the limit at two and one-half times the width of the street, but 
permits no building to exceed 125 feet. 

St. Louis limits all tenements to 150 feet, and those on streets 60 feet wide or 
less, to two and one-half times the width of the street. 

Washington limits all tenements to the width of the street between building lines, 
but never to exceed 90 feet. 

Providence limits all tenements to 90, feet, unless fireproof. 

Rochester permits no tenement to exceed in height four times its horizontal dimen- 
sion. 

St. Paul and Toledo apparently place no limit on the height, but let the height 
determine the construction. In Manchester, England, where the street is not over 
30 feet in width, the buildings are not allowed to exceed two stories in height, while 
on streets 30 to 36 feet in width dwelling houses may be three stories high. In Liver- 
pool, Glasgow, and Berlin, tenements are limited in height to the width of the street, 
while in Edinburgh they are limited to one and one-quarter times the width of the 
street. 

Most large German cities, with the exception of Berlin, have been divided into 
districts, each with its own building regulations, and any comparison must be with 
these districts. The general rule has been to restrict as large a part of the city as 
possible to two or three-story buildings. The following are typical ranges in the 
number of stories permitted front buildings. The back buildings must usually be 
a story lower than the front buildings where rear buildings are permitted. 

Munich ranges from five stories, and the mansard to two stories and a mansard, 
not to exceed 40 feet in height. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FACTORIES OF THE NEW YORK CITY 
COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION, PREPARED BY MR. 
JOHN ADIKES, CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee have held four hearings and heard nearly a score of witnesses 
in these meetings, while the. subject of the distribution of factories has been touched 
upon in a large number of meetings of other Committees by speakers who appre- 
ciate the necessity of such distribution if the evils of congestions are to be avoided 
by the distribution of the people themselves. In addition, they have made an in- 
vestigation of the distribution of factories in 1906 and ■ 1909, while numbers of the 
Committee took a trip around the water fronts of the City through the courtesy of 
the Dock Department in one of the department's boats, and studied the opportunity 
for the development of factory sites. The chairman of the Committee and the chair- 
man of the Commission also spent an afternoon visiting the South Brooklyn water- 
front district, and went through the Bush Terminals. 

Distribution of Factories in 1906. 
The Committee, owing to the absence of appropriation, has not been able to 
make an exhaustive study of the distribution of factories by districts in 1910, but a 
careful study of such distribution was made in 1906 by assembly districts in Man- 
hattan, and wards in Brooklyn and The Bronx, and the total number of factories 
started in New York City since that time has been a relatively small percentage, so 
that the facts found at that time are substantially correct at present. The most sig- 
nificant facts were that the Sixth Assembly District in Manhattan, in the centre of 
the island, below 11th St., and containing less than one-thousandth of the area of 
the City, had nevertheless 2,349 factories, with 56,589 workers in factories during the 
year, or 8.44 per cent of the total number of workers in factories in New York City. 
(These figures were secured from the records of the State Department of Labor, 
and the number of people in factories is the largest reported at any time during the 



122 

year covered.) The concentration of factories below 14th St., and 20th west of 
Broadway in Manhattan in that year (1906), is nearly as striking as the concentra- 
tion in the Sixth Assembly District, since in this area of 2,717 acres, a little over 
■one-seventy-sixth of the area of New York City, there were reported 321,488 work- 
ers in factories out of a total for the year of 662,749 in Greater New York. There 
were below 14th St., 10 factory blocks, each having over 2,400, and one 4,007 
workers in factories. Several of the most important factory blocks are located in 
the centre of the island. Of the 171 important blocks which Mr. William J. Wilgus, 
in his brief for a subway for freight, shows were the chief shipping blocks in Man- 
liattan, 84 were located in the district bounded by Barclay st., West Broadway, Uni- 
versity place, E. 14th st., Lafayette st., Marion, Elm, Chambers and Broadway, that 
is just west of the centre of Manhattan island below 14th st. 

The sites of the factory blocks having the greatest number of workers are 
assessed from $500,000 to about $900,000 per acre. It is extremely _ significant that 
the greatest congestion of population in tenements is in the districts immediately ad- 
joining this concentration of factories, and it has been the unanimous evidence of 
those that have appeared before your Committee that workers follow factories and 
keep very near to their places of Avork. In spite, however, of the fact that therd 
was the phenomenal concentration of factories in 1906, there were very few wards 
in Brooklyn and assembly districts in Manhattan in which most of the twelve classes 
of factories into which the State Department of Labor divides these factories of 
the State were not represented. That is. irftmufacturing of different kinds was found 
to be feasible quite generally throughout the City. 

A table showing the distribution of factories is appended as part of the report 
of your Committee. 

Conditions in Factories. 
The Committee have not been able to visit personally many of the factories of 
the City, but have found most unhealthy conditions in sorne of the factories, dark 
rooms, inadequate protection of moving machinery, etc.. while the State Department 
of Labor reports for the year ending September 30. 1909, that ten orders to properly 
light work rooms were issued in New York City; eight compliances with such orders 
were reported, while 948 orders to properly light halls, stairs and water closets were 
issued in New York City, and that 899 compliances with such orders were reported. 
These orders represent practically the number -of cases in which generally the non- 
compliance with the requirements of the law in regard to these specific items were 
found by the Deputy Factory Inspectors. 

Comparative Advantages and Disadvantages of Manufacturing in New York City. 
It is significant that the total number of factories in the Boroughs of Manhat- 
tan and The Bronx (County of New York), increased materially from 1906 to 1909, 
as shown in the table appended, so that nearly four-fifths of the new factories start- 
ed in the City during this time located in Manhattan and The Bronx and the over- 
whelming majority were in Manhattan, while only one-eighth were in Brooklyn, and 
■one-thirtieth were in Queens, 2,438 out of 3,060 having located in Manhattan. A 
study has been made of the total number of persons for whom accomrnodations 
were provided in factories constructed during the years 1902 to 1907, inclusive. 
While provisions were made allowing 28 square feet for each occupant for 197,238 
workers in Brooklyn (from 1903 to 1907), accommodations were provided for only 
137,034 in Manhattan (from 1902 to 1907). 24,000 of this number being above 8th st. 
The important advantages of manufacturing in Manhattan are : 
First : The large labor market and proximity to the market for the goods. 

The most important disadvantages of manufacturing in Manhattan are : 

First : High cost of land. 

Second : High cost of insurance. 

Third : Cost of drayage through the crowded streets of the City. 

Fourth : The high rentals. 

During the three years from 1906 to 1909, a good many factories have removed 
from New York City. Some, however, have gone from other Boroughs as well as 
Manhattan. The John L. Mott Iron Works removed their factory from The Bronx 
to New Jersey. They employed in their factory in The Bronx between 500 and 600 
men, and most of them have left New York and gone to New Jersey to be neaf 
their work. They assign the following reasons for their removal : 

"We removed our factory for various economic reasons, the high cost of land, 
taxes being, of course, factors ; also the strictness of the City ordinance as to the 
smoke nuisance ; regarding wages, they are the same." 

The Henry R. Worthington Co., Worthington pumping engines and hydraulic 



123 

■machinery, removed from Brooklyn, and assign the following reasons for their re- 
moval : 

"We would say that we removed our factory from Brooklyn four or five years 
-ago because the natural growth of the business required more space than we could 
obtain there at that time. We built new works at Harrison, N. J., where we occupy 
over thirty acres of ground. Our pay-roll was about $30,000 a week, and we presume 
that nearly all of the workmen moved to Newark, of which Harrison is a suburb." 

On the other hand a varied' line of factories have been coming into the City 
■and locating in different sections. 

The secretary of the Erie Basin Board of Trade states that during the past year 
there have been located in the Erie Basin twentv factories of different kinds, and 
that none have moved away from the district during that tipe. The Bush Terminal 
Company have within the past few years secured the location of many factories in 
their model plants in South Brooklyn. Questions were sent to a number of manu- 
facturers asking suggestions as to the reasons for the locating of factories in Man- 
hattan and pre-eminently what kind of , manufacturing can be more economically 
carried on in the Boroughs outside of Manhattan than in these Boroughs. The con- 
census of opinion as to the kind of manufacturing that can be economically carried 
on in the Boroughs outside of Manhattan is contained in the following statements 
submitted to the Committee : 

"No factory, the output of which is not entirely meant for local consumption, should 
Tdc located on Manhattan unless its plant is along the waterfront or near the principal 
freight railway depots. All manufacturing plants which send their produce, or the greater 
part of it, to out-of-town points, belong in the outside Boroughs, because every truck 
sent out from the heart of New York City to the shipping terminal adds to the 
•congestion of our streets, and every employee engaged by such a manufacturer is 
tempted to locate with his family in a tenement near his workbench. This refers 
particularly to the wholesale clothing and other textile branches. Incidentally, the 
proximity of factories to tenement houses leads to the ultimate establishment, sur- 
reptitious and otherwise, of smaller plants within the living quarters." 

That the proximity of factories to tenements leads to the ultimate establishment, 
surreptitious and otherwise, of smaller plants within the living quarters, is evidenced 
by the fact that the Sixth Assembly District, as has been noted, in central Manhattan 
contains a very large proportion of the total number of workers in factories in 
■Greater New York, approximately one-twelfth in 1906, and had the greatest density 
of workers per acre, while to the east in the old Eighth and Tenth Assembly Districts 
was the greatest density of population per acre, averaging 649 per acre in 1905. A 
large proportion of the tenement manufacture licenses, were in these districts. 

Mr. Frank Bailey, of the Title Guarantee Trust Company of Brooklyn, has also 
■indicated the economical distribution of factories in New York City as follows : 

"I believe that practically all kinds of factories, except the most light manufac- 
turies, can be carried on more economically in the Boroughs outside of Manhattan 
than in the Borough of Manhattan. 

"Second, it is necessary that the factory be contiguous to existing labor centres 
or accessible to existing labor centres, and they can not be moved here and there 
at will. 

"It will be seen that there has been a really large increase in the factories located 
in the Borough of Brooklyn, and I think the tendency is stronger now than ever 
hefore. 

"The best method to secure the removal from Manhattan is to offer economic ad- 
vantages which cannot be obtained in the Borough of Manhattan." 

As a matter of fact, however, in 1906, of the nearly one-half of the total num- 
ber of workers in factories in Greater New York located below 14th st. in Manhat- 
tan, one-half were engaged in the manufacture of clothing, millinery and in laundries, 
and nearly one-sixth in the manufacture of printing and paper goods, and one-ninth 
in the manufacture of metals, machines and conveyances, a total, respectivelv, of 
155, 558, 51, 909 and 37,253. On the other hand, there were in Brooklyn only 26,935 
persons engaged in the manufacture of clothing, millinerv and in laundries, or one- 
fifth of the total engaged in manufacturing in the Borough; 9,358 in printing and the 
manufacture of pare goods, and 35,942 in the manufacture of metals, machines, and 
conveyances, a little over one-fourth of the total number of 132,466 workers in the 
factories of the Boroughs. 

Belt Lines as a Means of Distributing Factories. 

It is significant that many of the large cities of the country have recognized the 
necessity of belt lines to co-ordinate the different railroads carrying freight in/ the 



124 

city, and provide for transfer from one line to another and to ensure the prompt 
delivery of freight. 

The belt line of Chicago, for instance, connects all trunk lines entering Chicago, 
so that industries located on the belt railway of Chicago are thereby enabled to use 
any or all lines in the conduct of their business and at Chicago rates. The Belt Rail- 
way Company claim that ground A'alues are lower at present on the belt railway of 
Chicago than in many congested sections, and that they furnish facilities for handling 
less than carload shipments, which they extend as necessity demands. 

St. Louis also has a connecting belt line which has proven of enormous value in 
manufacturing and the better distribution of freight. 

The Metropolitan Improvements Commission of Boston stated that in their judg- 
ment the purposes of a belt line railroad might be one or all of several, as follows : 

First — To detour traffic around a densely populated district. 

Second — To provide flexibiHty of operation in the interchange of traffic, among 
and between the various lines intersected. 

Third — To open up new territory for industrial activity. 

They aver, however, that in their judgment, although a belt line is feasible for 
other cities, it is impracticable for Boston, since by reason of its location as a tide- 
water terminal Boston does not lie in the path of any great amount of all-rail through 
traffic. Through business in Boston is to a great extent strictly port tonnage, for 
transshipment in vessels. The all-rail through business consists of traffic in commodi- 
ties to northern and southern New England points, from manufacturing cities within 
a radius of about 15 miles of Boston, where the obvious routing on a minimum mileage 
basis is through Boston to destination. 

The conditions in New York City, however, with freight lines to the North and 
East, and with several trunk lines West, connected by admirable float service, is en- 
tirely different. The statement of the Boston 'Metropolitan Improvements Commis- 
sion in reference to economy in production is most significant, as follows : 

"The sites of future industries which shall represent the greatest efficiency in 
production, must, as a rule, be on the waterfront, at the foci of the arteries of trans- 
portation." 

The City of New Orleans has also constructed a public belt railroad, which has 
been in operation for several years. The official description is as follows : 

"The Public Belt Railroad Commission was organized by city ordinance and is a 
municipal board. The line is constructed along the river front of the city and has 
twenty-two miles of double tracks, which serves all public wharves and a number of 
private industries ; the switching rate is $2 per car on all business to or from any 
point on the Public Belt Railroad. The switching charge applies only one way, that 
is, it is chargeable on the initial move, the return move being gratis." 

This belt line was constructed by appropriations from the funds of the city and 
has been fairly successful. 

Various suggestions have been made to the Commission with reference to a 
provision of a similar belt line for New York Cit}'-, and a definite plan has been pro- 
posed by Mr. John M. Paris, as follows : 

"A careful study as to the needs of freight traffic leads me constantly to the con- 
clusion that the best solution of the problem is by the construction of a belt line 
whereby all railroads leading into New York City may be connected, and likewise the 
connecting of this belt line with the principal water front property of the city. If a 
line was constructed leading through the various manufacturing cities of New Jersey, 
like Hackensack, Paterson, Passaic. Newark and Elizabeth, and across onto Staten 
Island, following the shore front of Staten Island sufficiently depressed to not inter- 
fere with traffic purposes, then under the Narrows and again depressed through the 
South Brooklyn sections between Coney Island, Bay Ridge and Flatbush to Jamaica 
Bay. connecting with the present proposed connecting railroad being constructed by 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford and Pennsylvan'ia Railroads jointly, with 
traffic arrangements with such road whereby its tracks might become a part of this 
belt system, and a proper and easy connection in The Bronx of the lines of the New 
York Central and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroads, and you have 
connected up every railroad entering New York City, you have made it easily 
accessible to lines being built along the East River water front in both the Bronx and 
Queens, you have connected with the New York Central freight line leading down the 
westerly side of Manhattan Island, an extension of which either a depressed or an 
elevated southward would open up the entire North River water front, and in con- 
nection with the lines already operating into the Bush Terminal you have made 
available the water front along Brooklyn's New York Harbor shores and have entirely 
opened up the srreat expanse of manufacturing sites around Jamaica Bay. If, in con- 
nection with this, the terminus of the Barge Canal could be established in Jamaica 



125 

Bay by the cutting of a canal from Flushing Bay through to Jamaica Bay, thus per- 
mitting barges going down the North River and through the Harlem River into Long 
Island Sound to pass directly through to Jamaica Bay without having to pass througn 
the congested East or North Rivers of New York Harbor, and we have established 
a condition of freight traffic and freight handling in this city unsurpassed by any other 
city on the Atlantic or Pacific coasts. 

"I believe the first and most important step to take in this connection is securing 
from the city proper appropriation for the improvement of Jamaica Bay, and, if pos- 
sible, securing the terminus of the Barge Canal in that same harbor. You will recall 
that the representatives of the various railroads present at the hearing of the com- 
mittee in the Mayor's room, a few weeks ago, stated that if Jamaica Bay was im- 
proved along the lines suggested above, the necessity for a belt line such as suggested 
above would be imperative, and would likewise be a paying commercial proposition. 
I do not think there would be any trouble to build such a line with private capital if the 
Barge Canal should terminate in Jamaica Bay and the bay be properly improved." 

Mr. Paris stated that in his judgment the improvement of conditions of freight 
traffic is the best means of securing a normal distribution of factories throughout the 
City. 

As is well known, Mr. William J. Wilgus, President of the Amsterdam Corpora- 
tion, has suggested a tunnel for carrying freight in Manhattan, which would involve 
an initial expense of approximately $100,000,000. The connecting lines proposed by 
the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, to run through from The Bronx 
across to Randalls and Wards Islands, southeast through Queens, is an important 
method of securing desired distribution of factories. 

It has also been suggested by members of the Produce Exchange who have stud- 
ied the question through numerous special committees, that it might be possible to 
utilize the various surface railroads running through Manhattan for freight purposes, 
moving freight during the night hours, and that this could be done by the formation 
of a company with an arrangement with the various railroads to pass over their lines. 
In South Brooklyn the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company operate light freight car 
lines over their lines and their method is similar to that of the so-called light traffic lines 
of Germany. 

The study made two years ago by Dr. E. E. Pratt of the opportunities for manu- 
facturing, and the reasons for locating factories in Queens, is appended as part of the 
report of this committee. 

Mr. Pratt found that trucking and drayage are regarded as the most economical, 
and that most manufacturers preferred to hire trucks and save the trouble of keeping 
their stables, especially when their business does not warrant the keeping of many 
teams. The essential reasons given by m.anufacturers for locating in different sec- 
ttons of Brooklyn were tabulated, and in South Brooklyn the majority of the manu- 
facturers in the "Bush Terminal gave as their reasons for locating there the transpor- 
tation facilities. In the vicinity of Brooklyn Bridge the majority of the manufacturers 
regarded the saving of rent or the cheapness of sites as the most important item 
and the transportation facilities second. 

In Wallabout Market the saving of rent and the cost of site were regarded as 
most important by the majority of the manufacturers interviewed, and the supply of 
labor and transportation facilities as next important. Of the firms interviewed in Wil- 
liamsburg, practically all assigned the saving of rent and the cheapness of sites as the 
most important items that had led them to locate there. 

The report of the State Department of Labor indicates, however, that despite 
the certain advantages of manufacturing in the boroughs outside of New York City, 
that the number of factories in Manhattan and the number of workers in Manhattan 
is actually increasing more rapidly in Manhattan than in any of the other boroughs, 
since about four-fifths of the increase from 1906 to 1909 were located in Manhattan 
Island and a large number of them below 14th street in Manhattan. 

Mr. Pratt notes, moreover, the following principles which usually obtain : 

1. Labor will not follow factories if removed to a considerable distance. 

2. Labor will not follow factories to the suburbs unless the neighborhood condi- 
tions are attractive and adequate housing facilities are at hand. 

3. To ensure a labor supply, the worker should be compensated in definite ways 
for the losses of city life, by providing recreations, amusements and education for him. 

4. Recent investigations which have been made in New York City show that no 
matter whether the factory is located in the most congested sections of Manhattan or 
in furthest Brooklyn, the distribution of population bears very close relation to the 
place of work and to the working conditions. The old theory that congestion is due 
to the congregation of nationalities who desire to live huddled together in little col- 
onies is fallacious. In studying the distribution of workers in the factories of New 



126 

York City, .it has been_ found that in every instance it is the location of the place of 
work, and not the nationality group, which determines residence. There are deeper 
and more fundamental causes at work, some of which we have been considering. 

Mr. Pratt gives in the following tatles the result of his findings : 
Italians Working in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 





Living in 
Brooklyn. 


Living in Manhattan, 
Below 14th St. 


Liv; 


ing in Manhattan,. 
Above 14th St. 


Working in Manhattan 

Working in Brooklyn 


Per Cent. 
,15.3 

55.5 


Per Cent. 
61.7 
34.0 




Per Cent. 

14.4 

3.8 


Distribution 


of Workers 


in Manhattan and Brooklyn. 




Distance from Work 
Measured in Time. 




Working in 
Manhattan. 




Working in 
Brooklyn. 


40 minutes or less 

41 to 60 minutes 

61 to 80 minutes 

81 to 100 minutes 

101 to 120 minutes 

121 minutes and over , 




Per Cent. 

24.6 

22.5 

7.3 

16.9 

21.2 

7.5 




Per Cent. 
40.7 
31.8 

6.5 
10.9 

7.2 

29 











. — and his conclusions are as follows: 

First, that there are very strong economic currents tending to force factories and' 
manufacturing estabHshments from the centre of the City and its periphery. 

Second, that workers tend to live near their places of employment, and that the 
relocation_ of factories greatly readjusts the distribution of population. These facts 
lead irresistibly^ to the conclusion that the removal and relocation of manufacturing 
establishments in suburban districts will materially lessen the intensity of .the con- 
gestion of population, and that the regulation of the location of factories would, in part 
at least, prevent further increase of density. 

Distribution of factories does not necessarily mean the forcible removal of the 
factories of the City at one fell swoop. It may simply mean the arrangement of 
proper distribution and the inauguration of preventive measures for the future. 

As the result of the study of these conditions your Committee make the follow- 
ing recommendations : 

Recommendation of the Committee on Factories of the New York City Commission- 
on Congestion of Population, Mr. John Adikes, Chairman. 
In the judgment of the Committee two lines of action must be adopted to secure 
a better distribution of factories throughout Greater New York. 

1. Measures must be adopted to prevent the location of more factoi-ies in Man- 
hattan or at least in sections of Manhattan. 

2. Factories must be encouraged to locate in the other Boroughs of the City. 

1. Measures to Prevent the Location of More Factories in Manhattan or at Least in- 
Congested Sections of Manhattan. 

First— The Committee feel that the only way to prevent the location of more 
factories in Manhattan 'is absolutely to prohibit their location in the Borough or in 
certain sections of the Borough, where as has been shown by the preceding state- 
ment their presence either constitutes a menace to the halth of the workers in the 
factories or puts upon them and ultimately upon the consumers of the goods a heavy 
and unnecessary cost of carfare, truckage and breaking bulk. Factories in the centre 
of Manhattan involves a tremendous cost also to the City in the wear and tear upon 
the streets and in delaying traffic, and is from this point of view a direct injury to the 
City_ itself. The prohibition of factories in certain districts has ample precedents in 
foreign countries. 

Many cities in Germany, Austria, France and Switzerland have laws which abso- 
lutely prohibit the locating of factories except in districts designated by the City- 
authorities. The Town Planning Act passed in England this year ( 1910) secures the 
right to the Local Council to determine the use to which land shall be put and hence 
by interpretation to determine the districts in which factories may be located as pro- 
vided in section 45 of the Town Planning Act. Toronto, Canada, also has preserved 



127 

certain residential districts from manufacturing through a by-law authorizing them to 
determine districts which may be so restricted. 

The Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners of Massachusetts, created by Act 
of Legislature in 1879, has a right to determine the location of factories in certain 
districts or in cities where in their judgment the same is undesirable. The construc- 
tion of factories and building of wharves or filling in and occupying of land in tide- 
water, etc., that would in any way interfere with the use of the waters of the city 
they have the right to prevent and to remove any encroachments or causes of any 
kind which may injure the Connecticut River or interfere with the navigation of any 
harbors of the cities or towns along the river. The authority of this Board has been 
materially extended by the revised Laws of 1902 and their jurisdiction and functions 
are along the same lines as the authority suggested to be conferred on the City of 
New York to prohibit the location of factories in certain districts because their loca- 
tion there will either impede traffic unnecessarily or cause the City an enormous and 
unjustifiable expense. 

The City of Cleveland also through its Building Code, by requiring factories to be 
constructed of semi-fireproof material, has practically restricted the location of fac- 
tories. 

Second — In the judgment of the Committee these precedents are ample to justify 
the recommendations that legislation be sought to prohibit the location of factories 
in certain sections of Manhattan since the evil effects of locating more factories, 
here has been amply demonstrated. The}' believe that this is no interference with 
property 'rights nor confiscation of such rights, but within the police power of the 
State. For fear, however, such a law might be declared unconstitutional, your Com- 
mittee recommend that legislation be secured restricting the cubage and volume of 
buildings to be used for factory and loft purposes. The Mayor's first Building Code 
Revision Commission recommended that no building should be permitted to exceed 
a volume or cubage of 174 times the area of the site, which means substantially a. 
height of 14 stories. As many factory or loft buildings 16 to 24 stories in height are 
now. being constructed in Manhattan, this restriction upon the volume would mate- 
rially reduce the rentable floor space provided in such buildings and the consequent 
congestion of operatives in factories as well as in the tenements adjacent, and the 
Committee would suggest that buildings to be occupied by factories or lofts be limited 
to a cubage of 132 times the area of the site, which would be equivalent to 12 stories,, 
counting eleven feet to a story. 

Third — The Committee recommend not only that no factory or loft building here- 
after to be erected shall exceed a cubage or volume of 132 times the entire area of the 
lot upon which it is located, above the curb level of the lowest street upon which it 
stands, but that at the rear of every such building hereafter erected there shall be 
provided a yard open and unobstructed from the street level to the sky across the 
entire width of the lot and of a depth equal to one-tenth of the height of the building, 
but in no case less than one-tenth of the depth of the lot, or if the lot be under one 
hundred feet in depth of a depth less than ten feet, and that no premises or building 
hereafter erected shall be converted to, or occupied as a factory or loft, that does not 
conform to these requirements. 

Fourth — The Committee recommend that 500 cubic feet of air space be provided 
for each emploj^ee in a factory instead of 250 cubic feet of air space as at present, and 
600 cubic feet of air space instead of 400 as at present between the hours of 6 p. m. 
and 6 a. m., under the provisions of the present labor law. 

Fifth — The Committee recommend that manufacturing in tenement houses be 
prohibited, or if that is not possible that at least such manufacturing be prohibited in' 
tenements in which there are children, and that the manufacturer be made responsible 
for the conditions under which his goods are manufactured and for any violation of 
the above provisions, and, also, that he be required to tag his goods so that they may- 
be identified at any time and that a State Commission be created to determine the- 
best methods of prohibiting or rigorously restricting manufacturing in tenements. 

Sixth — The Committee after careful study of the proposition made, for a Joint 
Railroad Terminal on the North River above 25th street, recomm.end that while a 
joint railroad terminal is doubtless valuable, that the construction of factories on any 
considerable scale here as proposed be unwise, as it would tend to produce the same 
congestion of population and congestion of traft'ic as has been produced by 12-story 
factories in other sections of the City. The present congestion of traffic on the west 
side is sufficiently serious without aggravating it by the construction of more fac- 
tories as contemplated in this plan. 

The provisions for elevated lines for assembling freight are, however, in the judg- 
ment of the Committee, very wise, although they would suggest that further exten- 



128 

sions of the lines that tap the central parts of Manhattan Island not now reached by 
any freight line should be provided. 

2. Measures to Encourage Factories to Locate in Other Boroughs of the City Than 

Manhattan. 

The Committee is thoroughly convinced that mere repressive measures will not 
be sufficient to secure the location of factories in the other Boroughs of the City 
than Manhattan. They therefore make the following recommendations to encourage 
the location of factories in the Boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and 
Richmond : 

First — The adequate improvement of the water front with piers and docks for 
factory purposes and with warehouses. The single pier constructed by the City in 
South Brooklyn at 37th street was constructed at an expense of approximately one and 
a quarter million dollars, and for the large site on which this is located the City paid 
in 1908 approximately $4,666,000, although the land was assessed for only about two- 
fifths of this amount. The entire pier over 1,000 feet in length is leased to a single 
company for less than $40,000 a year, which with depreciation and loss of taxes on 
the property means that the City is practically conducting a philanthropy. The back- 
ground from this pier is a waste and the City is losing a large amount of money on 
the capital tied up as well as in the loss of the taxes upon the property. Evidently, 
however, the City should develop this water front similarly to the economic develop- 
ment of the Bush Terminal Company. 

Your Committee agree with the conclusion reached by the Chicago Harbor Com- 
mision, after a study of European ports, that the City should not attempt to make 
over 3 per cent, net on its piers and docks, since the additional business brought to the 
City through the attraction of commerce justifies such an apparently small net return. 

It is evident that some effort consistently followed must be adopted for develop- 
ing the waterfronts of these other Boroughs to encourage the locating of factories in 
them. The Commitee feel that important as will be the development of Jamaica Bay, 
that the important step to be taken in the distribution of factories is the completion 
of those developments which have been already started, such as this one in South 
Brooklyn, and the completion of the dredging and widening of the Newtown Creek, 
as well as the development of the waterfronts of Staten Island, The Bronx and 
Queens. 

In a recent paper Mr. Hoag, of the Department of Docks and Ferries, suggests 
that the waterfront from Spuyten Duyvil south permits of development on apparently 
broad lines for coast-wise or local traffic. A great need, he states, exists at the present 
time for a pier in Harlem between Dyckman's Cut and the New York, New Haven and 
Hartford Railroad yard at Willis avenue. A new plan already estabHshed provides 
for a pier 40 feet wide between the Fordham Road pier and the University Heights 
Bridge pier, the City owning this property. Practically all the frontage, Mr. Hoag 
states, along this district is relatively easy of development for at least local traffic 
The portion of The Bronx waterfront between Barretto Point and Hunts Point is 
well adapted for coast-wise traffic and would be for transatlantic traffic were it not for 
the enforced approach through Long Island Sound. Along this stretch of the water- 
front the City owns property at the foot of Willis avenue. 

Second — The Committee recommend that the freight lines connecting all the Bor- 
oughs be constructed as soon as possible. 

Third — The Committee recommend that the ferriage charg for trucks on all 
Municipal ferries be equalized, to the present minimum. 

Fourth — The Committee recommend that further provisions be made for carrying 
trucks on the Municipal Ferry boats now running from Manhattan to South Brooklyn 
and to Staten Island, both to Stapleton and St. George, by altering the boats so that 
they can carry four lines or rows of trucks, and all Municipal Ferry boats should 
hereafter be constructed in this way. 

Fifth — The Committee believe that to shorten the work-day to eight or even nine 
hours universally would have a great effect in distributing population, since it is 
generally true that the longest hours of work of any member of the family determines 
the location of the family. 

In conclusion, the Committee would call attention to the fact that factories_ are 
leaving New York City and New York State and locating in New Jersey very rapidly. 
They have not been able, owing to the lack of any appropriation, to collect statistics 
showing the extent of such factory removals, but have cited the case of two im- 
portant factories, The J. L. Mott Iron Works, which removed their factory from The 
Bronx to Jersey City, taking with them most of the 500 to 600 men whom they 
employed there, and the Henry R. Worthington Company, also removed recently from 



129 

Brooklyn to Harrison, N. J. The latter's weekly payroll was about $30,000, over 
$1,500,000 a year, and most of their workers went with them. 

In the judgment of your Committee the reasons assigned by the manufacturers are 
worthy of careful consideration by this Commission : They are high rents, high cost of 
land, high taxes and strictness of the City as to the smoke nuisance. 

Tt is evident that high land values mean not only that higher rents must be paid 
for sites for factories, but also that higher wages must be paid to operatives so that 
they can afford to pay the increased rental which high land values necesitate if con- 
o-esion of population is to be prevented It is of the greatest importance that these 
four causes for the removal of factories from New York City should be removed as 
far as possible if factories are to be successfully retained in New York City and if 
manufacturing is to remain an important undertaking in the City. General informa- 
tion suffices to demonstrate that land cannot be made relatively cheap m the Borough 
of Manhattan, and that high taxes are inevitable with the large expenditures which 
the City has already undertaken and to which it is already committed, but that taxes 
can be adjusted so that the City can encourage the location and retention of factories 
in the City. 

In this connection your Committee would call attention to the beneficent effect in 
retaining factories in the Boroughs outside of Manhattan of taxing land double the 
rates on buildings, 4;hat is, halving the taxes on buildings , , . 

The tax rate in Brooklyn and Queens in 1910 per $100 of assessed valuation was 
approximately $1.81. That is, for a factory building worth $50,000, located on a site 
worth $25,000, the total taxes in 1910 in these two Boroughs would be $1,357.50. If, 
on the other hand, the tax rate on land had this year been twice the tax rate on build- 
ings the land rate would have been about $2.19 plus and the tax rate on buildings 
$1095 per $100. The taxes on the buildings assessed for $50,000 would have been 
$545 and the taxes on the land approximately $647.57, a total of $1,192.50, meaning a 
net saving on taxes in this specific case of about $165, or approximately one-eighth of 
the total taxes. This is of course not a large amount, but a large proportion, and m 
most cases the assessed value of the land would be much less than one-half of the 
assessed valuation of the buildings, particularly in outlying districts, so that the total 
saving would often be one-fourth to one-fifth of the present taxes, if land were taxed 
at double the rate on buildings. 

The Bush Terminals serve as a notable example of the economic development of 
the City through the normal distribution of factories. The chief features of the 
Bush Terminals are as follows : , • i i 

The plant consists of a large area of land relatively cheap, situated on the water- 
front in South Brooklyn, with well-lighted concrete buildings directly connected by its 
own lines with the railroads of the Borough and Queens and with wharfage facilities 
for transatlantic traffic as well as coast-wise traffic, also provisions for floats con- 
necting with all the transcontinental railroads. The chief advantages offered by the 
location of these lofts contiguous to the water front or cheap land are : ■ 
First — The saving of rent. 
Second— The saving of truckage. 
Third — Saving of insurance. 
Fourth — Saving of carfare and hence of wages. 

These distinct advantages should be referred to. The last advantage is not so 
apparent, but the fact remains that although the nominal wage paid to the operatives 
in the factories occupying the Bush Terminals are the same as those paid operatives 
in Manhattan factories, yet the men who ride to their work pay $30 a year for carfare, 
assuming 300 working days to the year at 10 cents per day carfare, and this is^ an item 
which should be carefully considered by the manufacturers in Greater New York. 

It is evident that the manufacturer is pre-eminently benefited by increasing the 
rate of taxation on land and reducing the rate on buildings in three respects : 

(a) The total amount of his taxes is materially reduced. 

(b) Land for manufacturing purposes is cheaper. 

(c) The heavier rate of taxation on land stimulates the construction of more 
buildings and hence through the operation of economic laws the rent his workers 
must pay is reduced which permits the payment of lower wages without any in- 
justice to these workers. 

(d) The distribution of factories also by eliminating or reducing the cost of car- 
fare for his workers also enables the manufacturer to pay lower wages without reduc- 
ing the standard of living of his workmen. 



130 

Comparison of the Number of Workers in Factories and Area in the Five Boroughs 

of New York in 1906. 
Manhattan, below 14th st, east of, and 20th st. west of 7th ave., total area 2,717 acres 

Number of Workers, 321,488. 

Per Cent. 

~1^ Group IX— Clothmg, millinery, laundry, etc 155,558 48.3 

2. Group VII — Printing and paper goods , 51,909 16.2 

3. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 37,253 11.7 

4. Group X — Food, Hquors and tobacco 24,196 7.5 

5. Group IX— Leather and rubber goods 20,003 6.2 

6. Group III— Wood manufacturers 10,583 3.3 

7. Group VIII— Textiles 9,123 2.8 

8. Group V — Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 7,723 2.4 

9. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 2,628 0.8 

10. Group XI— Water, light and powder 1,022 0.3 

11. Group VI — Paper and pulp 873 0.3 ■ 

12. Group XII— Building industry 617 02^ 

Manhattan, above 14th st., east of, and 20th st. west of 7th ave., total area 11,321 acres. 

Number of Workers, 160,368. 

^ Per Cent. 

1. Group IX — Clothing, millinery, laundry, etc 35,257 3.45 

2. Group X — Food, Hquors and tobacco 29,465 18.4 

3. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 22,365 13.9 

4. Group III — Wood manufacturers 15,476 9.7 

5. Group VII — Printing and paper goods 13,414 8.3 

6. Group IV — Leather and rubber goods 7,715 4.8 

7. Group VIII— Textiles 7,598 4.7 

8. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 4,235 2.7 

9. Group XI— Water, light and powder 2,426 1.5 

10. Group V — Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 1,781 1.1 

11. Group XII — Building industry 636 0.4 

The Bronx, total area 26,017 acres. 

Number of Workers, 18,143. 

Per Cent. 

1. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 5,203 28.6 

2. Group III— Wood manufacturers 4,775 26.2 

3. Group VIII— Textiles 1,955 10.7 

4. Group X — Food, liquors and tobacco 1,827 10.5 

5. Group IX — Clothing, milHnery, laundry, etc 771 9.7 

6. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 1,218 6.6 

7. Group VII — Printing and paper goods ' 543 3.0 

8. Group IV — Leather and rubber goods 301 1.7 

9. Group XI — Water, light and power 284 1.6 

10. Group V — Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 229 1.2 

11. Group XII— Building industry ,. 37 0.2 

Brooklyn, total area 49,680 acres. 

Number of Workers, 132,466. 

Per Cent. 

1. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 35,942 27.1 

2. Group IX — Clothing, millinery, laundry, etc 26,935 20.4 

3. Group X — Food, liquors and tobacco 13,330 10.1 

4. Group III— Wood manufacturers 11,881 9.0 

5. Group VIII— Textiles 10,967 8.3 

6. Group VII — Printing and paper goods 9,358 7.4 

7. Group IV — Leather and rubber goods 9,201 6.9 

8. Group V— Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 6,620 5.0 

9. Group I — Stone, clav and glass products 5,447 4.1 

10. Group XI— Water, light and power 1,828 1.0 

1 1 . Group VI — Paper and pulp 541 0.4 

12. Group XII— Building industry 407 a3_ 

Queens, total area 82,883 acres. 



131 

Number of Workers, 22,324. 



Per Cent. 



1. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 8,693 39.0 

2. Group VII— Textiles ' 2,375 10.6 

3. Group III — Wood manufacturers 2,340 10.5 

4. Group V- — Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 2,263 10.0 

5. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 2,151 9.7 

6. Group X — Food, liquors and tobacco 1,744 7.8 

7. Group IV — Leather and rubber goods 1,425 6.4 

8. Group XI— Water, light and power 507 2.3 

9. Group VII — Printing and paper goods 472 2.1 

10. Group IX — Clothing, millinery, laundry, etc 284 1.3 

11. Group VI — Paper and pulp 70 0.3 



Richmond, total area 36,600 acres. 

Number of Workers, 7,960. 



Per Cent. 



1. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 2,800 36.5 

2. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 1,295 16.2 

3. Group V — Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 1,032 13.0 

4. Group VIII— Textiles 812 10.2 

5. Group IX — Clothing, millinery, laundry, etc 749 9.4 

6. Group X — Food, liquors and tobacco 444 5.6 

7. Group VI— Paper and pulp 339 4.3 

8. Group III — Wood manufacturers 175 2.2 

9. Group VII — Printing and paper goods 127 1.5 

10. Group XI— Water, light and povi^er 78 1.0 

11. Group XII — Building industry 5 0.1 



Total area of New York, 209,218 acres. 

Total Number of Workers, 662,749. 



Per Cent. 



1. Group IX — Clothing, millinery, laundry, etc 240,554 36.3 

2. Group II — Metals, machines and conveyances 112,355 17.0 

3. Group VII — Printing and paper goods 75,823 11.4 

4. Group X — Foods, liquors and tobacco 71,015 10.7 

5. Group III — Wood manufacturers 45,230 6.8 

6. Group IV — Leather and rubber goods 38,645 5.8 

7. Group VIII— Textiles 32,830 5.0 

8. Group V^Chemicals, oils, paints, etc 19,653 3.0 

9. Group I — Stone, clay and glass products 16,974 2.6 

10. Group XI— Water, Light and Power 6,145 0.9 

11. Group VI— Paper and pulp 1,823 0.3 

12. Group XII— Building industry 1.702 a2_ 

Comparison of Density of Population, Density of Workers in Factories and Density- 

of Factories per Acre in the Five Boroughs of Greater New York in 1906. 



Man- The Brook- Rich- 

hattan. Bronx. lyn. Queens, mond. 



Density of Population (from State Census 

of 1905) 150.4 10.4 27.3 2.4 1.9 

Density of Workers (from State Dept. of 

Labor Report of 1906) 34.33 0.70 2.25 0.24 0.21. 

Density of Factories (from State Dept. of 

Labor Report of 1906) 1 .383 0.025 0.094 0.005 0.00 



132 



The disproportion in the number of Workers in Factories and Factories in vari- 
ous parts of Manhattan is indicated by the following figures : 



Workers. 


Sixth 

Assembly 

District. 


Below 
14th St. 


Above 
14th St. 


Man- 
hattan 


In Factories 

Factories 


56,598 

2,349 


321,488 

13,067 

2,717 


160,366 

6,483 

11,321 


481,856 
19,550 


Area in Acres 


186 


14,038 



Twelve per cent, of the Factories and 11.7 per cent, of the Workers in Manhattan 
are crowded into the Sixth Assembly District, 1.3 per cent, of the area of Manhattan. 

The average assessed value of land per acre, secured from 100 lots scattered 
throughout the District, was $660,850.20. 

The Number of Buildings Used for Factories of an Indicated Number of Stories 
Below 14th St. is Indicated by the Following Table. 

1 Story 178 3.7 per cent. 

2 Stories 245 5 . 1 per cent. 

3 Stories 649 13.4 per cent. 

4 Stories 942 19.5 per cent. 

5 Stories 1,490 30.9 per cent. 

6 Stories 819 17.0 per cent. 

7 Stories 216 5.4 per cent. 

8 Stories 89 1.8 per cent. 

9 Stories 32 0.7 per cent. 

10 Stories 48 1 .0 per cent. 

11 Stories 23 0.5 per cent. 

12 Stories 39 0.8 per cent. 

13 Stories 4 0.1 per cent. 

14 Stories . . 0.0 per cent. 

15 Stories 2 0.0 per cent. 

16 Stories 1 0.0 per cent. 

Salient data has been secured regarding the block in the Sixth Assembly 
District having the greatest number of Workers in Factories per acre in 1906, 97.3 
per cent, of the site being covered by buildings. 

This block, bounded by Crosby, Prince, Broadway and East Houston streets, has 
the largest number of workers in factories and factories per acre in the Sixth Assem- 
bly District. The Sixth Assembly District has the greatest density of workers in 
factories and factories in Manhattan. 



Total Number. 

Acres, ( '" ^ 

Area. Workers. Factories. 



Density per Acre. 

< ^ ^ 

Workers. Factories. 



Sixth Assembly District. 
This Block 



186 
3,312 



56.598 
4,007 



2,349 



304 
1,210 



13 
23 



In 1908 the assessed value of the buildings in this block was $3,171,000. 

In 1908 the assessed value of the land in this block was $2,593,000. 

In 1908 the total assessed value of this block was $5,764,000. 

In 1908 the assessed value of land per square foot in this block was $17.97. 

In 1908 the assessed value of land per acre in this block was $782,910.62. 

72.6 per cent, is covered by buildings 12 stories in height. 

1S.6 per cent, is covered by buildings 6 stories in height. 

2.3 per cent, is covered by buildings 5 stories in height. 

3.5 per cent, is covered by buildings 4 stories in height. 

3.3 per cent, is covered by buildings 1 story in height, while only 

2.7 per cent, of the total site of the block is open in courts. 

Blocks With Large Number of Workers in Factories. 
Between Chrystie st., W. 4th st., Thompson st. and Canal st. there were 10 blocks, 
each of which in 1906 had 2,400 workers in factories or over. There were 26 blocks 
which had between 600 and 2,400 workers in factories, while the block bounded by 
Varick, Vandam, McDougal and Spring sts. had over 600 workers in factories. 



133 



Distribution of Industries by Assembly Districts According to the Twelve Classes Into 
Which the State Department of Labor Divides Factories. 







I. 




II. 


III. 






Stone, Clay 


Metals, Ma- 


Wood 


Location 


and Glass 


; Products. 


chines, Conveyances. 


Manufacturers. 


Assembly 


( 




1 




r 


' 


District 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


(1905) 


Workers. 


Factories. 


Workers. 


Factories. 


Workers. Factories. 


First 


914 


31 


6,933 


573 


735 ■ 


63 


Second 


493 


32 


7,239 


442 


1,908 


143 


Third 


272 


15 


2,522 


110 


983 


63 


Fourth 


42 


2 


1,250 


55 


267 


17 


Fifth 


ISO 


10 


1,733 


68 


849 


46 


Sixth 


604 


30 


5,837 


340 


2,556 


155 


Seventh 


60 


8 


7,884 


54 


565 


18 


Eighth 


10 


1 


96 


15 


38 


10 


Ninth 


332 


16 


4,352 


95 


1,371 


61 


Tenth 


5 


3 


140 


23 


82 


26 


Eleventh 


249 


6 


812 


29 


580 


21 


Twelfth 


47 


3 


2,412 


22 


754 


26 


Thirteenth 


65 


5 


912 


35 


962 


34 


Fourteenth 


22 


3 


362 


28 


568 


21 


Fifteenth 


107 


5 


366 


18 


1,056 


8 


Sixteenth 


9 


1 


845 


58 


1,278 


55 


Seventeenth 


357 


9 


850 


28 


1,457 


19 


Eighteenth 


185 


16 


2,165 


72 


1,495 


62 


Nineteenth 


10 


1 


351 


14 


57 


10 


Twentieth 


502 


13 


796 


31 


1,389 


36 


Twenty-first 






27 


3 


7 


3 


Twenty-second . . 


438 


ii 


867 


31 


722 


30 


Twenty-third . . . . 


54 


1 


870 


17 


465 


6 


Twenty-fourth . . 


133 


9 


569 


30 


883 


22 


Twenty-fifth . . . . 


425 


28 


3,216 


51 


2,351 


128 


Twenty-sixth 


315 


4 


542 


20 


606 


25 


Twenty-seventh . 


168 


4 


1,579 


33 


697 


26 


Twenty-eighth . . 


135 


3 


318 


11 


26 


2 


Twenty-ninth . . . 


15 


2 


350 


16 


92 


8 


Thirtieth 


66 


7 


297 


17 ' 


176 


8 


Thirty-first 


2 


1 


225 


7 


21 


4 


Thirty-second . . . 


376 


13 


1,286 


25 


182 


13 


Thirty-third 


103 


6 


635 


10 


63 


6 


Thirty-fourth ... 


198 


9 


980 


44 


818 


24 


Totals 


6,863 


308 


59,618 


2.425 


26,059 


1,199 



134 



Distribution of Industries by Assembly Districts According to the Twelve Classes Into 
Which the State Department of Labor Divides Factories. 







IV. 




V. 


VI. 




Leather 


Chemicals, 




Location 


and Rubber Goods. 


Oils, Faints, etc. 


Paper and Pulp. 


Assembly 












1 


> 


( 


\ 


f 1 


District 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of 


No. of No. of 


(1905) 


Workers 


Factories. 


Workers 


Factories. 


Workers. Factories. 


First 


. 3,787 


173 


2,762 


122 


26 2 


Second 


2,941 


185 


2,183 


111 


687 42 


Third 


. 2,815 


112 


Z77 


15 


18 2 


Fourth 


175 


10 


19 


3 


6 2 


Fifth 


5,120 


394 


303 


9 


16 1 


Sixth 


4,332 


322 


429 


26 


120 11 


Seventh 


273 


10 


442 


8 






Eighth 


107 


15 


62 


1 








Ninth 


608 


12 


206 


13 








Tenth 


68 


13 












Eleventh 


471 


10 


140 


6 








Twelfth 


99 


14 












Thirteenth 


119 


7 


132 


7 








Fourteenth 


9 


3 


1,099 


1 








Fifteenth 


5 


1 












Sixteenth 


277 


26 


47 


4 








Seventeenth 


265 


6 


257 


6 








Eighteenth 


204 


11 


52 


1 








Nineteenth 


5 


1 


2 


1 








Twentieth 


97 


9 


48 


1 








Twenty-first .... 


4 


1 


3 


1 








Twenty-second . . 


78 


11 


175 


3 








Twenty-third .... 






129 


1 








Twenty- fourth . . 


126 


ii 


3 


1 








Twenty-fifth .... 


. 3,623 


191 


496 


21 








Twenty-sixth . . . 


172 


5 


11 


2 








Twenty-seventh . 


371 


25 


7 


1 








Twenty-eighth . . 


47 


3 












Twenty-ninth . . . 
















Thirtieth 


522 


\2 












Thirty-first 


82 


13 


3 


1 








Thirty-second . . . 


848 


10 


60 


4 








Thirty-third 


8 


2 


3 


1 








Thirty-fourth ... 


60 


7 


54 


6 








Totals 


. 27,718 


1,625 


9,504 


376 


87.'^ fi 












135 



Distribution of Industries by Assembly Districts According to the Twelve Classes Into 
Which the State Department of Labor Divides Factories. 



yii. 

Printing 

Location and Paper Goods. 

Assembly r -^ 

District No. of No. of 

(1905) Workers. Factories. 

First 12,178 

Second 21,704 

Third 4,558 

Fourth 334 

Fifth 4,623 

Sixth 4,556 

Seventh 2,860 

Eighth 104 

Ninth 1,716 

Tenth 106 

Eleventh 438 

Twelfth 80 

Thirteenth 1,225 

Fourteenth 706 

Fifteenth 12 

Sixteenth 100 

Seventeenth 88 

Eighteenth 665 

Nineteenth 16 

Twentieth 1,749 

Twenty-first 

Twenty-second . . . 157 

Twenty-third 

Twenty-fourth ... 55 

Twenty-fifth 5,975 

Twenty-sixth 92 

Twenty-seventh . . 726 

Twenty-eighth ... 19 

Twenty-ninth 6 

Thirty 27 

Thirty-first 34 

Thirty-second 43 

Thirty-third ...... 45 

Thirty-fourth 326 

Totals 65,323 1,949 



VIII. 
Textiles. 



No. of No. of 
Workers. Factories. 



IX. 
Clothing, Mil- 
linery, Laundry, etc. 

No. of No. of . 
Workers. Factories. 



408 

701 

73 

25 

129 

185 

29 

17 

20 

11 

8 

14 

14 



13 
5 

20 
4 

24 



4 

159 

9 

17 

2 

1 

5 

8 

4 

7 

15 



1,786 

949 

2,534 

30 

958 

2,764 

69 

3 

429 

12 
14 
66 
10 
32 
6 



1,^ 



157 

336 

22 



566 

12 

3,186 

36 

50 

384 
79 
12 
32 
44 

257 

16,721 



70 

36 

101 

3 

42 

93 

4 

1 



3 

2 
2 
1 
2 
2 
11 
4 
2 
3 



3 
2 
104 
2 
6 

'4 

4 

1 

. 1 

1 



524 



20,235 

7,183 
33,081 

9,255 

35,036 

32,007 

585 

5,114 
964 

1,063 
81 

5,547 
328 
727 
316 

5,725 
458 
558 
579 
732 
344 
646 
377 
730 
36,562 
474 

6,626 
132 
793 
591 
946 

1,769 
607 
644 

210,815 



706 

395 

913 

535 

985 

987 

70 

304 

61 

133 

13 

286 

23 

83 

32 

333 

30 

62 

55 

59 

70 

72 

75 

72 

1,106 

50 

332 

43 

123 

48 

146 

112 

78 

58 

8,450 



136 



Distribution of Industries by Assembly Districts According to the Twelve Classes Into 
Which the State Department of Labor Divides Factories. 



X. 

Food, 

Location Liquors and Tobacco. 

Assembly i ^ \ 

District No. of No. of 

(1905) Workers. Factories. 

First 7,287 

Second 4,071 

Third 2,875 

Fourth 810 

Fifth 396 

Sixth 3,214 

Seventh 3,402 

Eighth 323 

Ninth 2,099 

Tenth 340 

Eleventh 782 

Twelfth 485 

Thirteenth 994 

Fourteenth 330 

Fifteenth 322 

Sixteenth 663 

Seventeenth 311 

Eighteenth 1,515 

Nineteenth 219 

Twentieth 1,428 

Twenty-first 536 

Twenty-second . . . 5,820 

Twenty-third 298 

Twenty-fourth . . . 2,518 

Twenty-fi/th 763 

Twenty-.sixth .... 6,197 

Twenty-seventh . . 107 

Twenty-eighth . . . 1,764 

Twenty-ninth .... 12 

Thirtieth 1,254 

Thirty-first 311 

Thirty-second 1,429 

Thirty-third 258 

Thirty-fourth .... 468 

Totals 53,661 2,297 



XI. 

Water, 
Light and Power. 

, A , 

No. of No. of 
Workers. Factories. 



XII. 
Building Industry. 

( '^ N 

No. of No. of 
Workers. Factories. 



203 
189 
95 
89 
53 
149 
65 
61 
49 
62 
36 
59 
46 
70 
30 
84 
36 
48 
27 
44 
48 
84 
66 
64 
54 
74 
17 
51 
11 
60 
69 
90 
70 
44 



215 

411 

5 

72 
110 



20 

20 

34 

406 

167 



578 
176 



158 
14 



16 

23 

1 

'6 

35 
3 



435 


1 


16 


3 


2 


1 


269 


56 


300 


1 


24 


4 



75 
257 
93 
30 
45 
69 
20 

94 
5 

20 
3 

62 

17 

3 
10 

25 
13 



29 

24 
46 

44 

132 

4 

7 

20 



25 



4 
25 
7 
1 
8 
16 
4 

\2 
2 
1 
1 
6 
3 

2 
1 
4 
2 



4 
4 
8 
16 
3 
9 
1 
1 
4 
2 



3.448 



183 



1,253 



154 



137 

Distribution of Industries by Assembly Districts According to the Twelve Classes Into 
Which the State Department of Labor Divides Factories. 

Location Total. 

Assembly f ^ ^ Area. Per Acre. Workers 

District No. of No. of i '■ n , "■ \ per 

(1905) Workers. Factories. Acres. Workers. Factories. Factory. 

First 56,933 2,371 520 1U9.5 4.55 24.0 

Second 50,026 2,324 343 145.8 6.78 21.5 

Third 50.133 1,507 230 218.0 6.53, 33.2 

Fourth 12,218 742 166 73.6 4.48 16.4 

Fifth 49,301 1,751 277 177.8 6.31 28.1 

Sixth 56,598 2,349 186 304.3 12.62 24.1 

Seventh 16,168 273 ' 297 54.2 0.92 59.0 

Eighth 5,857 425 98 59.7 4.34 13.8 

Ninth 12,191 354 264 46.2 1.34 34.5 

Tenth 1,809 273 114 15.9 2.39 6.6 

Eleventh 3,605 134 194 18.6 0.68 26.9 

Twelfth 9,475 429 160 59.2 2.68 22.0 

Thirteenth 5,271 182 188 28.0 0.97 28.9 

Fourteenth 4,017 225 161 25.0 1.40 17.9 

Fifteenth 2,216 98 124 17.9 0.79 22.6 

Sixteenth 8,953 578 165 54.2 3.50 15.5 

Seventeenth 5,939 151 226 26.2 0.67 39.4 

Eighteenth 7,599 306 236 32.1 1.30 24.8 

Nineteenth 1,588 117 600 2.8 0.20 13.6 

Twentieth 6,939 222 186 37.4 1.19 31.3 

Twenty-first 921 126 1,068 0.9 0.12 7.3 

Twenty-second ... 9,367 255 218 43.0 1.17 36.7 

Twenty-third 2,799 176 3.306 0.8 0.05 15.9 

Twenty-fourth ... 5,077 224 348 14.6 0.64 22.6 

Twenty-fifth 56,939 1,914 460 123.8 4.16 29.7 

Twenty-sixth 8,789 195 224 39.1 0.87 45.0 

Twenty-seventh .. 10,487 474 434 24.2 1.09 22.1 

Twenty-eighth.... 2,445 116 166 14.7 0.70 21.0 

Twenty-ninth 1,719 166 1,153 1.5 0.14 10.4 

Thirtieth 3,032 165 220 13.8 0.75 18.4 

Thirty-first 1,652 253 470 3.5 0.54 6.5 

Thirty-second .... 6,025 272 573 10.5 0.47 22.1 

Thirty-third 924 183 385 5.0 0.48 10.5 

Thirty- fourth .... 844 221 278 13.8 0.79 17.3 

Totals 481,856 19,551 14,038 34.3 1.39 24.6 



1. 


Block 


2. 


Block 


3. 


Block 


4. 


Block 


5. 


Block 


6. 


Block 


7. 


Block 


8. 


Block 


9. 


Block 


10. 


Block 


1. 


Block 


2. 


Block 


3. 


Block 


4. 


Block 


5. 


Block 


6. 


Block 


7. 


Block 


8. 


Block 


9. 


Block 



List of Blocks Having Over 2,400 Workers in Factories. 

bounded by Bleecker, W. 3d, W. Broadway, Wooster 2,671 

bounded by W. Houston, Prince, W. Broadway, Wooster 3,648 

bounded by Prince, Spring, W. Broadway, Wooster 2,726 

bounded by Spring, Prince, Wooster, Greene 2,587 

bounded by Prince, W. Houston, Wooster, Greene 2,948 

bounded by Bleecker, W. 3d, Wooster, Greene 2,829 

bounded by W. Houston, Prince, Greene, Mercer 2,895 

bounded by Prince, Spring, Greene. Mercer 2,895 

bounded by W. Houston, Prince, Mercer, Broadway 2,486 

bounded by Prince, W. Houston, Broadway, Crosby 4,007 

List of Blocks Having Over 600 Workers in Factories, 

bounded by E. 4th, Great Joneis, Broadway and Lafayette sts.. 1,120 

bounded by Bond, Bleecker, Broadway and Lafayette sts 2,002 

bounded by Bleecker, W. Houston, Broadway and Crosby sts.. 1,895 

bounded by Prince, Spring, Broadway and Crosby sts 2,009 

bounded by Prince, Spring, Crosby and Lafayette sts 1,710 

bounded by Spring, Broome, Broadway and Crosby sts 1,352 

bounded by Broome, Grand, Broadway and Crosby sts 1,146 

bounded by Howard, Canal, Broadway and Centre sts 1,002 

bounded by Great Jones, Bond, Lafayette and Bowery 1,852 



138 



10. Block, bounded by Bond, Bleecker, Lafayette and Bowery 

11. Block bounded by Hester, Canal, Centre and Mulberry sts 

12. Block bounded by Hester, Canal, Mott and Elizabeth "sts 

13. Block bounded by E. Houston, Stanton, Bowery and Forsythe sts... 

14. Block bounded by Stanton, Rivington, Bowery and Forsythe sts 

15. Block bounded by Bleecker, W. Houston, Crosby and Lafayette sts. 

16. Block bounded by Spring, Broome, Crosby and Lafayette sts 

17. Block bounded by Broome, Grand, Crosby and Lafayette sts 

18. Block bounded by Grand, Howard, Crosby and Broadway 

19. Block bounded by Grand, Howard, Crosby and Lafayette "sts 

20. Block bounded by Howard, Canal, Lafayette and Centre sts 

21. Block bounded by Grand', Howard, Lafayette and Centre sts 

22. Block bounded by Broome, Grand, Lafayette and Centre sts 

23. Block bounded by Grand, Hester, Centre and Baxter sts 

24. Block bounded by Grand, Hester, Baxter and Mulberry sts 

25. Block bounded by Hester, Canal, Elizabeth and Bowerv 

26. Block bounded by Bayard, Division, Bowery and Chrystie sts.. 

27. Block bounded by Hester, Canal, Bowery and Chrystie sts 



1.294 

1,189 

1,073 

1,099 

1,036 

945 

944 

954 

831 

804 

708 

892 

828 

674 

808 

763 

817 

620 



Summary of Information Secured from Manufacturers in New York City Regarding 
Reasons for Selecting Their Present Sites for Their Factory. 



Name of Co. 



Nearest freight 

Sta. Dis. 

away. 



Cost per 

year for 

cartage to 

and from 

station. 



What pro- 
portion of 

val. of 
goods you 
produce? 



Value 
of out- 
put for 
1909. 



Cartage 

bill for 

1909. 



1. Theo. Eisman. 



2. Greenpoint Met- 
allic Bed Co. . 



3. M a nhattan 
Brush Co 



4 Lawson & Co. 



Bush Terminal R. 
R. connects with 
factory 

B'klyn East. Dist. 
Term. 3,^ miles 
dis 



Bush Term. Cart- 
ing in and from 
factory 

Westchester an d 
Brook ave. De- 
pot of N. Y. 
Central R. R. Vz 
mile from fac- 
tory 



Nothing . . 



$6,000 a p - 
proximately . 



5. Eclipse Box & 
Lumber Co. . . 



Most pur- 
chases del. 
f. o. b. fac- 
tory ship- 
ping less 
than $500 
per year. . . 



Each Dist. Termi- 
nal Dist. about 1 
mile 



139 



Summary of Information Secured from Manufacturers in New York City Regarding 
Reasons for Selecting Their Present Sites for Their Factory. 



No. of 

Employees 

in shop. 



What does 

pay-roll 
aggregate ? 



Do most of 

shop-workers 

live near 

factory? 



What pro- 
portion 
ride to 
and fro? 



Are there any 
good houses 

within ^2. 
to Va. mile? 



No. 
No. 
No. 
No. 


1—30 
2—500 
3—36 
4—50 


$400 weekly 

6,200 weekly 

14,500 for year 




Yes 

50% 

Yes 


2-3 

50% 
75% 
50% 


Yes 
Yes 

, No— Rents 


No. 


5- 


-100 


About $1,200 


w'kly 


Yes 


5% 


are very 
high. 
Yes 



Summary of Information Secured from Manufacturers in New York City Regarding 
Reasons for Selecting Thei r Present Sites for Their Factory. 

Is It More Economical for the City to 
Length of Construct Subways and Carry Pas- 

Stop sengers to and from Work, or 

at Noon. Freight Lines to Distribute Fac- 

tories Where Land Is Cheap? 



Hour of Hour for 

Beginning in Stopping 

Morning. at Night. 



7.30 



7.00 
7.00 
7.30 



5.30 



5.40 
5.00 
5.30 



30 min. 



40 min. 
30 min. 



1 hour. 



To be on waterfront and on cheap 
land. 



Most working men like to live not too tar 
from factory, providing they can get 
a home in good houses at reasonable 
rents. 



Yes; I think the idea is to have workmen 
reside where they can walk to their daily 
work, but that cannot prevail in crowded 
parts of any city and still enjoy actual 
living, so I think subways or other means 
of transportation should extend to the 
suburbs, making it possible for men to re- 
side in decently appointed homes and near 
their work, and yet not be deprived of 
the blessings of the city during their 
earning or leisure. 

I think it would be best to distribute fac- 
tories and give them the best possible 
methods of shipping their goods. 



Summary of Information Secured from Manufacturers in New York City Regarding 
Reasons for Selecting Their Present Sites for Their Factory^ 



Reasons for locating factories in 
present sites. 



Under what conditions would you re- 
move your factory from Manhattan? 



1. Reasonable rent, low insurance and 

every convenience. 

2. W^e do a large local city business. 

3. To have territory and up-to-date 

fireproof place for our help, as 
they spend most of their time in 
the factory. 

4. Near my own home and convenient 

for workmen. 

5. To be on waterfront and on cheap 

land, so we could have plenty of 
room. 



Am only waiting transit facilities before 
building on property in Unionport 
bought for that purpose about six 
years ago. 



140 

Comparison of the Number of Workers in Factories in Cities of New York State and 
the Remainder of the State Secured from the Report of the State Department 
of Labor. 

(The State Department of Labor reports the maximum of workers in factories 
reported during every year ended September 30, and the industries of the State are 
divided into thirteen classes.) 

During the year ended September 30, 1909, the following proportion of the total 
number of workers reported in all classes were located in New York City: 

Per cent. 

Stone, Clay and Glass Workers 39 

Metal and Machmery Conveyances 37 

Wood Manufacturing 51 

Leather and Rubber Manufacturing 54 

Chemicals, Oils and Paints, etc 51 

Paper and Pulp Manufacturing 6f4 

Printing and Paper Goods 74 

Textiles 71 

Clothing, Millinery and Laundry Works 66 

Food, Liquor and Tobacco 61 

Water, Light and Power 71 

Building Industry 70 

Warehouse and Cold Storage 24 

Fifty-six per cent, of the total number of workers of the State were located in 
New York City, and about two-fifths of the total number on the island of Manhattan. 

The total percentage of each of these classes in New York State out of New York 
City, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Schenectady, Syracuse, Troy, L^tica and Yonkers 
is as follows : 

Per cent. 

Stone, Clay and Glass Workers 53.56 

Metal and Machinery Conveyances 35.27 

Wood Manufacturing 34.72 

Leather and Rubber Manufacturing 28.32 

Chemical, Oils and Paints, etc 24.92 

Paper and Pulp Manufacturing 91 .3 

Printing and Paper Goods 3.5 

Textiles 55.22 

Clothing, Millinery and Laundry Works 22.2 

Food, Liquor and Tobacco 26 . 4 

Water, Light and Power 19.44 

Building Industries 20. 5 

Warehouse and Cold Storage 76 . 

Only 27.34 per cent, of the total number of workers of the State were in towns 
outside of these cities enumerated and the proportion of each of these cities were 
as follows : 

Per cent. 

New York 56 

Buffalo 5 

Rochester 4 

Albany 0.9 

Schenectady 1 . 25 

Syracuse 18 

Troy 1 .81 

Utica 0.8 

Yonkers 1.9 



Total 72.66 

The rest of the State, 27.34 per cent. 

Several States, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, realize the evil results 
from the point of view of the health of laborers of such concentration of factories as 
well as the economic waste of such concentration and have successfully undertaken to 
widen the distribution of factories by an organized publicity by the State Depart- 
ment of Labor, indicating the opportunities for manufacturing in New Jersey in 
every city and every town with a population of over 100, through an industrial directory. 



141 



RFPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TAXATION OF THE NEW YORK 
CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION, PROF. GOOD- 
NOVV, CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee on Taxation of The New York City Commission on Congestion 
of Population respectfully report as follows: ^ ^ u ^ r^ . i n 

The Committee have held three public meetmgs, viz.: On October 4, October li 
and October 25. Public notice was given of these meetings and invitations were 
extended to individuals, who, it was beheved, could aid the committee in reaching a 
determination as to the influence exerted by the system of taxation upon the problem 
of congestion. A number of persons, including both those specially invited, and the 
general pubhc, appeared and testified. _ 

The Committee have reached certain conclusions based partly on their own 
observation and investigation and partly on the testimony they have heard which 
they desire to communicate to the Commission. 

First— They are of the opinion that the influence of the system of taxation on 
the problem of congestion is not great enough to justify reUance upon it as even an 
important means of remedying the evil. The testimony of Prof. E. R. A. Seligman 
of Columbia University, one of the greatest living authorities upon the subject of 
taxation, is to this effect. ..... • ,, 

Second— The Committee, however, are of the opinion that it is practically certain 
that an increase in the rate of taxation on land and a decrease of the rate on buildings 
would have the effect of encouraging building in the outlying sections of the City as 
well as of forcing land into the market which is now held for speculation. Ihe 
Committee is led to this conclusion both by their study of the effect of taxes based 
upon this principle which are levied in Germany, Canada, Australia, and in certain 
parts of the United States, and by the almost universal concensus of opinion of the 
witnesses who have appeared before it. This would seem to be the opinion of Prof. 
Selio-man, Mr. William E. Harmon, a man of wide experience m real estate matters ; 
Mr.'^Frederick C. Howe, formerly realty appraiser in the city of Cleveland, and a 
number of others who appeared before the Committee. _ . . 

The Committee, therefore, recommend that the Commission direct its Committee 
on Leo-islation to prepare a bill providing that the rate of taxation on land be made 
double' that on buildings. The constitutionaHty of such legislation would appear to 
be settled by the New York Court of Appeals in People vs. Romer, 185 N. Y. 285, 
which upheld the validity of an act of the Legislature taxing mortgages at a rate 
different from that imposed on other personal property. , , „- r u 

The Secretary of the Commission has prepared tabl^es to show the effect of such 
a f-hange in the tax system on the amount of tax to be paid by owners of small 
houses Ijuilt on cheap land, and by owners of unimproved land and to what an extent 
the burden of taxes would be shifted as between the several boroughs. 

These tables develop the fact that the application of the principle that the rate on 
land should be double the rate on buildings will, on the assumption that the City raises 
the same amount of money out of the real property tax on ordinary real estate as 
was raised in 1909, causes an annual saving of $12.73 to the owner of a house valued 
at $2,000 and built on land assessed at $600, and will increase the tax paid by the 
owner of vacant land assessed at .$2,000 by $6.26. 

So far as concerns the distribution of the burden of taxation among the different 
boroughs it is shown that, whereas under the present uniform rate, the Borough of 
Manhattan pavs $71,526,892.42, or 67.53 per cent., of the tax levy of 1909 under the 
proposed plan it would pay $74,071,271.52, or 69.92 per cent. Brooklyn which pays 
at present $21,543,038.30, or 20.33 per cent., would pay $19,052,235.17, or 17.98 per cent. 
The Bronx which pavs at present $6,884,680.47, or 6.49 per cent., would pay $6,913,- 
718 81, or 6.53 per cent. Queens, which pays now $4,872,894.71, or 4.60 per cent would 
pay $4,891,470.55, or 4.62 per cent., and Richmond, which pays now $1,105,222.96, or 
1.05 per cent., would pay $1,004,612.83, or .95 per cent. , t_ , r 

In other words, the change would result in shifting some of the burden of taxa- 
tion from th€ outlying districts like Brooklyn, where building has already taken place 
on a large scale either to the high-priced lands of Manhattan, which are more and 
more being used for commercial purposes, or upon the vacant lands of the Boroughs 
of The Bronx and Queens. That such a shifting of the burden of taxation would be 
desirable from the point of view of the purposes of the Commission on Congestion 
can hardly be questioned. . . 

Third— The Committee feel that they cannot recommend the proposition made to 
it that improvements on land amounting to $3,000 be exempted from taxation. _ Such 
an exemption would probablv have to be made to the extent of the exemption in the 
case of all improvements, and would thus be applied in many cases where it is difficult 



142 

to believe that it would have any effect on congestion. It would further seriously,, 
perhaps disastrously, affect the city's finances by reducing the taxable base. 

Fourth — The desirability of a tax on the increment of land value similar to the 
tax which has been imposed by a number of German cities has been strongly urged 
upon the Committee. The Committee are unable, however, to come to the conclusion 
that there is any very close connection between such a tax and the problem of con- 
gestion. The testimony as to the effects of such a tax on land speculation and in 
keeping down the value of land and encouraging the buildings of cheap dwellings is 
conflicting. The Oberburgermeister of Frankfort, Dr. Adickes, is of the opinion that 
such a tax has this effect. On the other hand, a commission of the Senate of Hamburgh 
informs us that the land increment tax has had no influence on either land speculation 
or the building of cheap dwellings, and that it would be difficult to find proof that it 
has reduced land values. 

The present increment tax was adopted in Hamburg in 1908. Prior to that time 
money made in land speculation was an income subjected to the income tax. The 
change was made in order to reach land owners not residents of the city. The com- 
munication from Hamburg calls attention to the fact that losses sustained in land 
speculation may be deducted from the income subject to the income tax. 

Dr. Sudekum, the chairman of the Committee of the German Imperial Diet, having- 
in charge a bill for an imperial tax on increments of land value, who appeared before 
the Committee, and who favored the imposition of such a tax, was also of the opinion 
that the increment tax had only the remotest connection with the problem of con- 
gestion. It was only, he thought, in so far as the city might with the proceeds of such 
a tax finance new vmdertakings for the improvement of the social welfare, that the 
increment tax had any bearing upon the problems before the Commission. 

Professor Seligman made a suggestion along the same lines which it seems to 
the Committee it would be well to consider. He suggested that a tax on the incre- 
ment of land value might be made to have an effect upon the problem of congestion if 
the proceeds of the tax were used for the promotion of those undertakings, such as 
transit undertakings, which both had an immediate effect on congestion and of them- 
selves tended to improve land values. Such an application of the increment of 
tax would be but a development of the principle of assessment for local improvement 
with which we are all familiar. It is believed that such a method of distributing the 
burden of an improvement would in the long run be fairer than the attempt to assess 
the cost of a transit undertaking upon some local district in the city which such under- 
taking was supposed to benefit. Property in lower Manhattan has unquestionably 
been benefited by many undertakings for which it has never paid, like the bridges, sub- 
ways and tunnels which have brought thousands of persons to it. 

The Committee would, therefore, recommend that the Committee on Legislation 
be directed to draft a bill providing for an annual increment tax at a low rate, say 5 
per cent., the proceeds of which shall be devoted to the building of the transit lines of 
which the city is in so great need. 

It has been urged upon the Committee that The City of New York should receive 
a proportion of the inheritance taxes levied bv the State. The Committee are disin- 
clined to recom.mend any action looking to such an end, for they cannot- see that there 
is anv connection between such a tax and the problem of congestion, and they believe- 
that the State is in as great need as the citv of new sources of revenue. 

Finally it has been proposed to the Committee that a progressive tax be imposed 
on the cubage of buildings as determined bv the relation of the size of the buildings 
to the area of the lot on which such building is erected. Although vour Committee 
'recop-nize that such a tax might have the effect of limiting the heisht of the highest 
buildings, we are of the opinion that such a result would be attained throneh the exer- 
cise of the police power more effectively than through the power of taxation. 

All of which is respectfully submitted 

Addition to the Report of the Committee on Taxation of the NE\y York City 
Commission on Congestion of Population, Submitted by Mr. John" J. Flynn. 

With the main suggestions of the report submitted by the Chairman of the Corn- 
mittee. Prof. Goodnow, we are in accord, provided slight modifications are made in 
these. 

In the first paragraph the statement is made that "the influence of the system 
of taxation on the problem of congestion is not great enough to justify reliance upon 
it as even an important means of remedying the evil." 

' The argument and evidence submitted 'bv the Chairman shows that an increase 
of taxation on land and a reduction of taxation on buildings inevitably tends to re- 
duce rents, and hence to reduce congestion. 



14:^ 

The two proposals he makes, however, to tax land twice as high as buildings — 
that is, to halve the tax rate on buildings, and to secure 5 per cent, of the increase 
in assessed land values does not materially increase the total revenues of the city. 

The first proposal does not increase the city income at all, the second by only a 
small amount, between $5,000,000 and $6,000,000 a year. 

The chief advantages of taxing land double the rate on improvements on build- 
ings are : 

First : That it is more difficult for the landlord to shift the tax on land onto the 
tenant, and hence this tax tends to make the proper person pay the tax — that is, the 
owner of land. 

Second: It makes the wealth of land — that is, the costly land of Manhattan, 
pay a much larger part of the total tax levy on ordinary real estate. 

While recognizing that taxation is not the only factor in producing congestion, 
it seems a much more important factor than the report of the Chairman would indi- 
cate, particularly if it is levied upon land chiefly, so that the tenants in a tenement 
or the owner of a small house on cheap land is not compelled to pay it in his rent. 
It will be generally agreed that a reduction of 50 cents from the present tax rate- 
that is, a tax rate of only $1.30 per $100.00 assessed valuation, would have a material 
effect in reducing the cost of housing and hence encourage the use of more buildings. 
The same result will be accomplished by putting a much heavier tax upon land than 
upon buildings and by meeting the total city expenditures as they are incurred. 

It is 'most illogical that over one-third of the total tax levy this year (1910) is 
devoted to the debt service. 

The interest on the citv debt is $32,178,760 49 

The redemption of the city debt is 7,104,320 39 

Installments payable 7.160,614.84 

Total debt service JS'S^no? n? 

The total tax levy for 1910 is • $131,474,981 06 

Divided as follows : ^ 

The tax levy on ordinary real estate q 940007 11 

The tax levy on special franchises 1 ecc aq^ io 

The tax levy on real estate of corporations is ^'^oq ono 77 

The tax levy on personal property tax is o,oby,iiW // 

Total tax levy .$131,474,981.06 

The tax rate varies from $1.75790 in New York County to $1.87501_in Richmond 
County It is evident therefore that nearly one-third of this tax_ rate is repre.sented 
by and used for the debt service and that debt is due to the unwise methods of past 
administrations in attempting to put upon future generations the cost of the ex- 
penditures by which they themselves have benefited. The evil results of this system 

^^Virs?— To^'encourage extravagance because the nominal tax rate has been kept 

^°° Se'^ond-To make the total cost to the city nearly two and a half times the 
value of the improvement or expenditure when corporate stock is issued to run bU 
years at 4 per cent, interest and sells at par, instead of paying for improvements as 
they are made and meeting current expenditures from current revenues. 

Third —To blind the public to the actual cost of government. 

?ourth-To put a heavy burden upon the poor of the city instead of making 
the holders of land who are^eaping fortunes from the rismg land values pay their 

'"''Th:"col;?;oir shL^n^TsTatement he has recently issued the result of this 
polic^'of ?aS out the Po- oj the aty to the^lan^ ^^^ ^12^05^449:59 

S l^^^iTo^t'T^ernlV^^^^^ to. . . /^ 80,056 ,32126 

^°'oF this only $18,143,717.85 was for the redemption of he <nty debt (corporate 
ctnrk^ while installments for s nkmg funds amounted to $61,912,6U^.4i. 
stock) while nstallrnems | ^^^^^ ^.^^^ consolidation exclusive of General 

Fund Bond Special Revenue Bonds, and Revenue Bonds amounts to $473 024,774.79, 
UP to DecembeJIl 1909, so that the net Funded Debt as above amounted on Janu- 
ary 1, 1910, to $794,930,288.88. , .^ ^ „ . 

For 1911 the appropriations for Debt Service are. $34 214,137 09 

Interest on the city debt 8658945 39 

Redemption of the city debt 7,788,739 51 

Installments payable • " 

. ' $50,661,82199 

Total debt service 



144 

It is evident that the city is running deeper and deeper into debt in the attempt 
to avoid making the land owners and the wealth of New York City pay their fair 
share of the city's expenditures as they are incurred and as a business corporation 
would do. 

Thus while the nominal budget for 1909 was only $156,545,148.14, the issue of 
funded debt (most of it for 50 years at 4 per cent.) was $72,560',074.59, and the 
issue of special revenue bonds $5,208,150.00, making the total budget $234,319,372.73, or 
nearly $76,000,000 more than the apparent budget — that is, half as large again as the 
apparent budget. During 1909, however, only $8,190,000.20 was appropriated for pay- 
ment of the city debt. 

It is suggested that this Committee express their disapproval of such methods 
of finance which, as has been demonstrated, increase the tax rate by about one-third 
and that the Commission make the following recommendations to the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen : 

First. — That the amount to be expended by the city for the acquisition of school 
sites, the construction of school buildings, the acquisition of parks and playgrounds, 
expenditures for water supply and transit each year be included in the budget for 
the year instead of paid for by the issue of corporate stock. These expenditures are 
constantly recurring and bear a fairly well established relation to the increase of the 
city's population. 

Second. — That the rate of taxation on the increase in assessed land value be 
progressive and not a flat 5 per cent as suggested by the Chairman of the Committee 
because it is not fair to tax a small and normal increase at as high a rate as a large 
increase within the same period. This tax should be levied moreover annually on the 
increased assessed land value, though the owners should be permitted to pay it in two 
or three installments if they so desire. 

It is suggested that the tax on increase in assessed land values be as follows : 

Per cent. 

On any increase under 21 per cent 3 

On any increase between 21 and 40 per cent., inclusive 5 

On the increase between 40 and 60 per cent., inclusive 8 

On the increase between 60 and 80 per cent., inclusive 11 

On the increase between 80 and 100 per cent., inclusive IS 

On the increase over 100 per cent 20 

Such a tax will be juster than a 5 per cent, flat tax and yield a much larger in- 
come. 

Third. — That the tax rate for each year be increased to raise the sum the city 
needs to adopt the policy suggested in paragraph (1), since this can practically be 
done with the additional land increment tax without any constitutional amendment, 
since the $2.00 limit on the tax rate does not include debt service and would hence 
release about $50,000,000.00. 

Fourth. — That the true price paid be required to be registered so that the taxing 
officials may have definite information upon which to base their assessment. 

Statements Submitted to the Committee on Taxation. 

A. Statement by Professor E. R. A. Seligman of Columbia University. 

In a general way, I should say, that so far as the question of congestion is con- 
cerned, the influence of taxation I think has been considerably overestimated. I 
mean by that the policies or practical changes that might be made in our American 
systems. It is a different thing if we were to treat it de novo. I think there are 
many miore important factors than taxation, but so far as the tax problem itself is 
concerned I imagine that your query centres around the point whether improvements 
ought to be exempted or not or whether there ought to be a special tax levied upon 
the unearned increment. Many of the points you suggest, Mr. Chairman, have only 
a very indirect relation to congestion. They may be important from the point of 
view of securing more revenue, which then may be utilized in the wiser expenditure 
of the revenue for the benefit of the people. But the question of the inheritance tax 
for instance is in itself entirely apart from the question of congestion. I do not 
think the inheritance tax has anything to do, as such, with congestion, nor do T think 
that a graduated inheritance or habitation tax or ocxupciiicy tax, however good sub- 
stitute for the personal property tax it may be, has anything to do with congestion. 
They are interesting questions which might be discussed from the point of view of 
the advisability of making changes in our revenue system, but I do not see that they 
are at all germane to the question of congestion. 

Chairman; But suppose, as a result of the adoption of the grant to the city of 



145 

one-half the money, or tax, the real property might pay by so much, would that have 
any effect in reducing rents, etc.? 

Mr. Seligman : As to what are the results of the present real estate tax it is in 
the main a tax on land space and tax on houses. Now in those quarters of the city 
where congestion is to be feared and, I presume, by congestion we mean congestion 
of living apartments and of tenement houses, in those quarters of the city where 
congestion is to be feared the land values are relatively less than they are in the 
business sections, as in the Wall Stret section, etc. You have, of course, the slums 
wher^ land values are in some cases slightly higher than the value of the buildings, 
but in the great mass of the sites occupied for dwelling purposes you will find the 
reverse to be the case. If that is so, why then of course a tax on real estate, the 
major portion of the value of which is on the house rather than on the value of the 
land, would be shifted to the tenant and will take the form of higher rent. The 
diminution of the tax would therefore mean a lessening of the rent. Here again, 
however, I think it must be borne in mind that the question of taxation is only of 
minor consequence in this whole question of congestion. Rents are comparatively 
high in New York because the land values are high, and land values are high not 
because taxes are high but because the land is valuable for business purposes. If 
there were no tax at all the superiority of New York real estate for the purpose of 
ijusiness would still be so marked that land values would be very much higher than 
they would be in smaller towns. Therefore I say that this whole question of the 
influence of the rate of the real estate tax upon congestion seems to me to be not 
so important, for instance, as the far more fundamental problem of transportation, 
or other points that might be mentioned. 

Mr. Chairman: Would you feel that the division of the present tax on real es- 
tate in such a way that the rate on the building was twice as much as the land would 
have the effect of reducing the congestion in any way? 

Prof. SeHgman : Of course anything that would tend to decrease the capitalized 
value of the land would tend so far, at all events, to reduce congestion. If you could 
arrange the system of taxation in a way that is not possible under present constitu- 
tional methods, i. e., if you divide the city up into districts and put different rates 
upon different districts, then you could to that extent diminish the value of real es- 
tate of some districts and of course increase it in others. 

Mr. Chairman: But it is claimed here that by an increase in the rateupon the 
land and decrease in the rate upon the building that there would be a premium given 
to people who own land to build inasmuch as they would not have to pay so much 
for the building as on the land, therefore there would be more buildings on the 
market. 

Prof. Seligman : From the abstract point of view, I think there is something to 
be said for that point. But when we come to consider actually the results of the 
exemption of improvements as in the Australasian cities, we find a rather curious fact. 
The English Government published a blue book some years ago on the experience of 
every city of Australasia on that point. A law had been passed permitting localities 
to exempt, for certain purposes of local taxation, improvements from taxation. Now 
some of the cities availed themselves of that and some refused to avail themselves 
of that. Of the cities that availed themselves of it, the greater majority reported 
no change at all worth mentioning in the general conditions. Of course, it must be 
said that in any consideration of a problem like this we must remember that a great 
many things go on at the same time that are likely to affect the ultimate results. A 
change of taxation may go on concomitantly with a change in business prosperity. It 
may go on at the same time in the change of railway rates, etc. So you cannot regard 
an economic problem as you can a physical problem and say that precise results follow 
certain causes. It was found that in some cities some vacant spaces previously un- 
occupied were then built up and that this increased the general prosperity of the city 
and gave an impetus to the building operations, etc. In other towns, however, where 
one would think precisely the same results would ensue, as far as we can learn no 
difference was reported. It must be stated, however, in defense of the claim that 
exemption of improvements is desirable so far as I know no town or city which 
has gone over to the exemption of improvements has receded from that position. 

Mr. Chairman: Was that method adopted in any city of considerable size? 

Prof. Seligman : In a few cities in New Zealand and New South Wales, but not 
in the largest cities. Further, of course, it must be remembered that the importance 
of this movement is minimized by the fact that it is not true, as is often stated in 
this country, that this exemption is applied to all local taxation. It is applied only 
to certain "poor" rates and other changes which would be included in our local taxes- 
such as after the fire department, lighting, etc., are excluded. In New Zealand and 



146 

in almost all of the Australian states, they have a state tax on the pure land value. 
They supplement them by the other taxes. The exemption does not apply to the whole 
range of local taxes, but only to a part of the local taxes, and, secondly, the con- 
clusions arrived at are various. You cannot say there is clear cut evidence as to- 
beneficial results following. In fact, a distinguished English economist who perhaps 
might be, accused of a little prejudice in the matter because he did not believe in 
it, has written an article seeking to prove that the results were distinctly unfavorable 
to the contentions. I think, however, there is not enough experience to warrant us 
to form any conclusion in the matter at all further than the one I started out with, 
that the whole question, the influence of exemption of taxes on improvements under 
existing conditions in America or Australia is as yet of minor importance as com- 
pared with the other far mightier factors in the problem. 

I do believe that if you were to have such a system as the tax on the unearned 
increment, secure a large revenue from that and with that revenue institute certain 
proceedings which would make the suburbs far more attractive to the citizen, you 
would indirectly or perhaps directly accomplish great results. For instance, in some 
of the German towns they utilize for the cities large sums secured in the main from 
their insurance funds and the unearned increment tax, for the building of model 
tenement houses, for the improvement of the suburban section and for the develop- 
ment of transportation facilities. Those, it seems to me, are the important points to- 
be considered. How can you make it possible for people now living in the slums 
to live in places where land values are much less and at the same time attend to 
their ordinary vocations in life? 

Mr. Chairman : Was the raising or the expenditure of the money to have the 
effect you speak of? 

Prof. Seligman : The expenditure would not have been made but for the in- 
creased revenues which were designed to afford the means for this increased ex- 
penditure. The tax on the imearned increment in the German cities has been too 
recent and too slight to warrant any general conclusion, but it is expected and on- 
general principles it would be expected that a tax on unearned increment would to- 
that extent diminish the selling value of the land. Now a yearly tax of say 10 per cent, 
or 20 per cent, or even more on unearned increment would of course prevent the 
appreciation to that extent of the value of the land and would therefore prevent any 
further congestion. 

As regards speculation, the experiments have been in operation in German cities 
for over two_ years and in some instances five years. It is assumed by pretty nearly 
all the investigators of the problem that speculation will be diminished. As to whether 
it has been diminished, I think it has been too soon to say, but on general principles 
I should imagine that would be the result. Entirely apart, however, from speculation, 
the tendency of a tax on unearned increment will be to prevent as high a rise in- 
land values as would otherwise take place. 

Mr. Chairman : Is this tax in German cities levied occasionally or on the occa- 
sion of a sale? 

Prof._ Seligman : On the occasion of a sale, but the period differs. Sometimes 
a short time elapses and sometimes a long period. When, therefore, I said a little 
while ago that the influence of taxation is very slight compared to the other factors. 
I was referring, oi course, to our present modes of taxation. I do believe that if 
by a system of increment _ taxes you can take for the municipality or government 
what would otherwise go into the pockets of the owner and thus be capitalized in 
the selling value of the land, of course the value of the land will be prevented from- 
rising to that extent. It would diminish the increasing land values by a definite per- 
centage and would pro tanto diminish the congestion. 

Suppose I go down to Wall Street and buy a 5 per cent, bond which sells for par. 
Now suppose the city or the state imposes upon a certain kind of railway bonds a tax 
of 1 per cent, every year and you know it is a permanent tax and that it is going 
to be levied. Now if I buy that particular railroad bond, I of course would pay in- 
side of $100 for it, probably $80 for it. The value of that bond will fall. Now, if a 
piece of land goes up in value and sells at an increased price, it sells at an increased 
price because people can get a certain income from it every year. It is simply a cap- 
italized value of the land. If a tax is imposed every three, five or ten years, as long^ 
as it is a permanent tax and if the owner calculates his income from the land and 
ascertains that his income from that investment is going to be so much less than it 
would otherwise be, why naturally when he buys a piece of land predicting the annual 
normal gradual rise which he can or will get he will pay so much less for it. 

Mr. Pleydell : This is then in the nature of our annual tax, but computed a. 



147 

little different? This tax is simply an increase in assessment. Is that the economical 
effect, not taking a lump sum out of the purchase price? 

Prof. Seligman : Yes, it would be a rent charge and unless you could estimate it 
approximately in the future, of course, it would not have that effect. It is very 
different from the British increment tax. , . 

Mr. Marsh: You speak of these other forms of taxation not having any rela- 
tion to the question of congestion, except indirectly. How about one-third of our 
taxation goes to pay debt service. Suppose we could raise ten, fifteen or twenty 
million additional a year, would it not have as direct an effect as an increment tax? 

Prof. Seligman : It seems to me this ought to be kept separate. This question 
of the city budget is different. I happen to be connected with the Bureau of Municipal 
Research and for the present we are centering our efforts on the first method, which 
we think more important, viz., that all the movement in American cities ought to be 
directed temporarily to make expenditures effective, not to increase the taxes. But 
assuming you have reached the limit in your economy and then not being able to 
do all the things for social improvement desired by the city, it may be desirable to 
increase vour revenues, the question is further complicated by the fact that in this 
city an increase in revenue or a change in the source of revenue is also to be recom- 
mended from the general point of view. Our system of taxation is not satisfactory, 
therefore I think without touching upon the question as to whether we have reached 
the limit of securing efficiency in economy in expenditures it is perfectly proper to 
consider whether we have not come to the point where more revenues or better 
kinds of revenue are not to be desired. I agree with you thoroughly that certain 
new forms of revenues are desirable in the American communities and especially in 
New York I do not think that I should put the municipal death duties, the inheritance 
tax, in that category because we cannot consider the local fiscal problem apart from 
the state problem and we have these at Albany as in New York and we need all the 
inheritance tax to be obtained. They would look- much askance at giving up any part 
of the inheritance tax for local purposes. But on the other hand, the other point 
you raise, the matter of the habitation tax, there we reach a point where I think the 
experience of Canadian cities and other cities can stand us in good stead. The occu- 
pation tax. I think, would be a very desirable addition to our municipal revenue sys- 
tem if carefully worked out so as to avoid certain obvious dangers and difficulties 
and could be made not only to serve as a substitute for the remnants of the personal 
property tax as we now have it, but also to yield, as in Paris and other continental 
cities, additional revenue. I may add that on that point,_ in some of the European cities 
the function of the tax was to get rid of other objectionable taxes. That is a prob- 
lem with reference to the best methods of raising a revenue. In connection with the 
tax on unearned increment one must be a little careful in putting a tax on unearned 
increment in addition to the annual tax on real estate or on land. If the tax on un- 
earned increment will prevent to that extent any increase in the land values, you would 
to that extent also be diminishing the annual revenue which you would get from the 
real estate tax. Especially if you exempt improvements, the burden of the real estate 
tax would then fall upon land at a certain assessed valuation. Now if through this 
fact of putting more tax upon land as an annual tax the very fact of putting taxes 
on the unearned increment would decrease the value of the land, therefore cutting 
off your own income. That must be borne in mind as a disadvantage. If, however, 
you supplemented your real estate tax by a tax on occupancy or in parts of that kind,, 
you could then perhaps more than compensate for this. 

Mr. Marsh : Would not reducing the tax rate more than half the ordinary tax 
rate tend to reduce congestion? 

Prof. Seligman : It would have that tendency. A tax upon anything produced 
tends to check the production of that thing. The remission of the taxes tends ta 
encourage the production. The house is produced for what you can get out of it, 
and if you make it worth while for people to put money into houses, of course they 
will do so. I think a very important point to be considered is, whereas it might strike 
some people at first as not to be recommended and whereas it may strike other people 
as a matter of very slight importance one way or the other, it is significant that 
wherever exemption has been tried it has not been abandoned. Of course the Cana- 
dian system is different from ours in that many of the cities do not tax personal prop- 
erty at all. 

I must confess, Mr. Chairman, that while I have tried the last few years to get 
definite results of the Canadian experience both from conversation and from corre- 
spondence, thus far I do not think it is in any tangible enough forrn to teach us rnuch. 
Mr. Pleydell : In Alberta they are applying for privileges as given in other cities, 
as in Toronto. They have gone in and applied for permission to do those things 



148 

and can revoke it by act of the Council, but does it not require change in the finan- 
cial law? 

d-9 nn^^' iS^^^"?^" • ^^,^^f ^^^^ suggested that a general exemption be tried here for 
$3,000. What_ do you think of that? 

_ Prof. Seligraan : I should think pro tanto that it would work in the same direc- 
tion, which would tend to encourage the building of little houses in the suburbs But 
the matter is complicated by the fact that- Mr. Pleydell has brought out, namely, that 
to the extent that you encourage building on vacant lands, other things being equal 
you increase the value of that land. 

B. Statement by Mr. Frederic C. Howe, formerly real estate appraiser of the 
City of Cleveland. 

The Board of Realty Appraisers, of which I was a member, had decided to value 
all property at its true value in money and had made a scientific assessment of the 
real estate of the city on this basis. The Board found that land values in the city 
had increased $177,000,000 in ten years' time, while population had increased by 175,000. 
In other words, every person added to the population had added something over $1,000 
to the value of the land. 

The board decided to allow very generously for depreciation in assessing im- 
provements. It therefore depreciated houses and buildings according to age, accord- 
ing to location and according to use. This was very generally approved by business 
men, who held that it was unwise to penalize the home, the factory or owner of an 
office building who improved the city when by so doing the land speculator was en- 
couraged to hold land out of use. 

I advocate the halving of the tax on improvements in harmony with the plan 
being adopted by somany cities of western Canada, where the tax on improvements 
had either been cut in two or abandoned altogether. In Vancouver the tax was first 
cut in two, and the results were so satisfactory and the stimulus to the growth of 
the city so great that the tax on improvements was abandoned altogether. This was 
followed by a doubling in_ the amount of buildings, a cutting up of large estates in 
the neighborhood of the city, a great improvement in wages and working conditions 
and a generally stimulating eflfect on the whole community. This change has also 
been adopted in a large number 'of other communities. 

The cities of Australasia have been taxing only land values for local purposes for 
years and the reports of the officials are all to the same efifect. No city that adopted 
the change ever went back to the old system. 

I spent five months in Germany studying the land question and city planning and 
found practical unanimity among city officials as to the necessity of the city con- 
trolling the land. Nearly every one of the large cities have adopted the land incre- 
ment tax, or tax on speculative profits. The rate runs from 1 to 33 per cent, depend- 
ing on the profit realized and the time in which it has been made. Vacant land is 
taxed more heavily than improved land, and in some cities workingmen's dwellings 
are exempt from taxation altogether. 

The suggestion that improvements be taxed at half the rate of land is a much 
more efficient method of reaching land values, and of stimulating the use of land for 
building onrooses than the German system. It is easily adopted in this country where 
land is valued at its capital value ; it does substantial justice to all and has the ad- 
ditional effect of forcing men to make use of land for some purpose or other in order 
to pay the tax imposed. 

C. Statement by Hon. Edgar J. Levey, President of the Title Insurance Com-* 
pany of New York. 

Mr. Levey discussed generally the effect of different methods of taxation upon 
congestion of population. He expressed the opinion that the effect of a super tax 
upon unearned increment was very difficult to forecast, on account of the conflicting 
tendencies which it would create. On the one hand, by rendering it more difficult 
for speculators to deal in vacant land and to hold unoccupied tracts out of the market, 
it would tend to have the effect generally claimed by single taxers, of cheapening 
ground values and thus enabling speculative builders to improve and turn out the 
finished article at a lower cost price. On the other hand, by rendering ownership of 
real estate — already suffering from many burdens — still more unpopular, it would 
tend to decrease the amount of capital willing to invest in real estate and thus make 
mortgage loans and especially building loans, more onerous. It was the exception, 
he said, where new buildings are constructed by the owners of vacant property. The 
business of constructing new buildings is principally in the hands of speculative 
builders who are active in a business quite as legitimate as any other business. They 
go into new enterprises because, after counting up all the cost, they find they can 
make a profit — if there is not a profit they will not build — and any legislation which 



149 



artificially makes it more difficult for them to pursue their busmess has a direct 

tendency to restrict development and increase rents. _ u- v, ^ 

Mr"^ Robinson asked: "Have you ever found that constructing a building higher 

than the surrounding buildings has increased the value of real estate m the neigh- 

^°'"''m1? Levey replied that it sometimes had that effect, because, it was an mdication 
that property in that neighborhood was available for uses more important than hose 
to which such property had previously been, put. On the other h^"d ^^ ?ometirnes 
had the effect, temporarily at least, of depressing real estate values by affordmg a sur- 

''""'Mr Tobfns'on^asked whether most of the Fourth Avenue loft buildings- have been 

^°"Tr^Ltv?;?epUed'thatr Fourth Avenue movement was a striking instance of 
the Effect to which he had just referred. It had increased and values m the neigh- 
borhood of Fourth Avenue, but it had decreased them m other sections ; as for ex- 
amole Broadway, south of Fourteenth Street, and the district l/ing to the west 
Keof, as f^ example, Wooster Street. This was due to the fact that the new 
Fourth Avenue buildings were drawing tenants away from the older buildings. 

Mr. Cantor Inquired: "Can you suggest any forms of taxation that would remedy 

'^" Mjle'vT/'Irit'not going too far to assume that congestion is an evil? Is 
not fongestS'intself father a mark of progress and civilization? Districts that 
Ire leasf congested are most savage and undeveloped. Not to go.outside of the 
possessions of the United States, Alaska is quite free from congestion, while New 
York Gty stands at the other extreme. The drift toward the cities is a mark of 
modern progress and is, perhaps, less to be deplored than some people think. Among 
S-eat citfes it s generally true that the greater the congestion, the greater the city^ 
ft is undoubtedly frue, of course, that congestion brings in its train certain evils which 
need to be controlled as they have been in large part controlled by our tenement 
houte laws, but there are few phases of civilization which have not attendant evils 
and to des roy congestion would be almost equivalent to destroying our cities in all 
?hat now rnakes th?m great. To amplify my meani,ng,.let "s take, for example the 
bus ness districts of New York. The financial district is located withm a very small 
area where land values are very high. People do their work in office buildings 
twentv stories high and upwards, because they do this, business is conducted, efficiently 
and economicallv It would be less efficient and less economical if the financial district 
were Tspersed over the city, so that people in order to meet one another would 
have to traverse long distances. In like manner, each trade is apt to huddle together 
in one center in as concentrated a manner as possible, the dry goods trade in one 
district, the machinery trade in another, the leather trade in another and so on. Busi- 
ness people do this because it is to their advantage to do so. When we come td 
the tenement districts we find that they are congested. for a somewhat analogous rea- 
son S people living in the crowded East Side districts hve there because they have 
certain advantages which they would not get in the suburban districts, and in spite 
of the fact that they might get cheaper rents. They are happier where they are and 
?n spite o all the Ifforfs that have been made to induce the tenement dwellers of 
the East Side to migrate into new settlements these attempts have met with 
ompSvely little sucfess. Where so many inhabitants are found, there .s o course 
a -reat deal of poverty and suffering also to be found, but I deny that the people of 
the East Side generally speaking, are so badly off in their housing accommodations 
and so much tS be pitid as many sentimentalists declare. The conditions on the 
East Sid" are not what the amateur charitably-disposed daughter o a millionaire on 
Fifth Avenue thinks they are, or what the casual. reader of a "}"^kraking magazine 
imagines they should be The people in this district are, generally speakmg, so well 
sSed with the°r -habitat that they resist expatriation. A great work was done m 
the improvement of tenement house building by our tenemen house laws. Much 
stm r^Ss to be done so that conditions-especially as affecting the old law tene- 
ments-may be still further improved. But even while admittmg the. many advan- 



150 

Mr. Levey was asked whether the statistics did not prove that the death rate 
in New York City from tuberculosis exceeded the death rate of the rest of the State, 
and whether this discrepancy was due to overcrowding in the city. 

Mr. Levey replied that he thought comparative statistics between New York City 
and the rural parts of the State should be carefully scrutinized, because in the one 
case we had adequate inspection, whereas in the other the collection of statistical data 
was notoriously imperfect. 

Reference was made to certain testimony produced before the Committee, show- 
ing instances of lamentable morals on the part of tenement house dwellers. 

Mr. Levey stated that the horrible state of facts alluded to constituted exceptional 
cases, rather than typical cases, and furthermore stated that in the mountainous and 
wholly uncongested districts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, _ Tennessee and 
North Carolina, the very same crimes were so prevalent as to be typical, rather than 
exceptional. 

Professor Goodnow asked what governmental action could be suggested which 
should have the effect of distributing the population. 

Mr. Levey replied that while better transit facihties would undoubtedly play a 
large part in such a result, still more was to be hoped for in encouraging the location 
of manufacturing centers (which are subject to entirely different rules from those 
of commercial or mercantile enterprises) away from the Borough of Manhattan, be- 
cause by doing so the working population would of its own accord follow the fac- 
tories for reasons both of convenience and of economy, as for example, in the sav- 
ing of transportation fares. 

Mr. Robinson asked whether if a city were divided into two imaginary zones 
and public improvements constructed in one zone and none in the other, the effect 
would not be that the population would desert the unimproved zone and move into 
the improved zone, so that while real estate values enhanced in the one, they would 
diminish in the other. 

Mr. Levey replied that this would be so, and, continuing, said that this illus- 
trated the injustice of a tax, progressive or otherwise, on unearned increment. He 
asked Mr. Cantor to imagine the latter having purchased at the same time two 
pieces of property, each for $100,000; one in Wooster Street and one on Fourth 
Avenue. The development of the Fourth Avenue loft district would make his prop- 
erty there worth $140,000, while his Wooster Stret property, for the same cause, 
would depreciate to $60,000. The unearned increment tax would confiscate a part of 
his profit on the Fourth Avenue transaction, but would not refund to him any part 
of his loss on the Wooster Street purchase. Under these circumstances, would not 
Mr. Cantor feel that if the State were to be a partner in the successful speculation, it 
should likewise be a partner in the vmsuccessful speculation? Mr. Cantor replied, 
"Yes, he would feel that way." Mr. Levey, continuing, said that this illustration was 
far from being as absurd as it might seem at first blush, because an unearned in- 
crement tax is in no proper sense a tax on regular income, but the confiscation of 
principal. 

Professor Goodnow stated that it is extremely difficult to get at exact justice, 
but asked whether it would not be rough justice to secure by assessment part of the 
increase in assessed land value, due to all improvements shown by increases in as- 
sessed land values, without attempting to determine just how much has been derived 
from specific improvements and devoting the funds derived from this tax to perma- 
nent improvements, schools, parks, transit, etc. 

Mr. Levey replied that where an assessment for benefit is made, it should be 
made for definite benefit to the particular property assessed, that he was a believer 
in the principle of assessing the whole or a part of the cost of rapid transit improve- 
ments on the outlying districts, which are clearly benefited by such an undertaking. 
But he doubted the wisdom of a haphazard collection of an unearned increment tax 
for the purpose of supplying funds for sitch improvements where such a tax was 
collected from districts not affected by such an improvement and which might owe 
their enhancement of values to entirely different causes. Mr. Levey stated that he 
did not favor habitation or occupancy tax, but would regard as less obnoxious a tax 
upon the tenants of business property, since that would reach people who live in 
New Jersey and pay light taxes there, while transacting business in New York City, 
where they enjoy practically all the benefits of its expensive government, paying no 
tax to the New York City government. 

Professor Goodnow asked whether a tax upon business property would be a 
lien upon such property. 

Mr. Levey replied that that was an administrative detail and might possibly be 



151 

•necessary, though not clearly so, because people engaged in business were usually 
responsible and the tax could be collected from them. 

Mr. Levey was asked with reference to a tax upon skyscrapers or buildings of 
a volume in excess of an adopted standard, and stated that the limitation of the 
height of buildings was, in his judgment, a proper exercise of the police power of 
the State and undoubtedly should be carried further than it is in our present laws. 

Professor Goodnow, referring to the statement that an unearned increment tax 
differed from an income tax, in that it taxes principal instead of income, stated that 
the income tax of 1894 provided for a tax upon all incomes and that the profits from 
the sale of land and other property were regarded as income. In many foreign coun- 
tries the income tax was as high as 5 per cent, of the total income. 

D. Statement by Mr. A. C. PI ey dell, Secretary of the New York Tax Reform 
Association. 

There are strong arguments presented here and elsewhere designed to show that 
single tax as advocated by Henry George would result in avoiding congestion. We can 
pass that temporarily. That is, as has been said, a counsel of perfection from the 
practical view point. Apart from such change in taxation, that would be rather a 
moral and social change than a fiscal change, the only suggestions made to relieve 
congestion through taxation are by using the tax power for the purpose of regula- 
tion. Primarily, these are the suggestions being made. 

I wish to go most strongly on record as being opposed to using the taxing power 
for purposes of regulation. It is so used now in a limited number of cases, mostly 
under the police power, the most shining example being the licensing of liquor. As 
far as it is used to-day under the police power, it may be classed among the neces- 
sary evils, and it is entirely a wrong use of the taxing power. The taxing power 
should be used for the purpose of raising public revenue only. When you try to use 
taxation for regulation, you complicate both the tax problem and the problem of 
regulation, and, what is still more important, is that this is only a confession of 
cowardice. It is only proposed when people are afraid to meet problems squarely. It 
is so much easier to meet evil sidewise under the plea that the government needs 
revenue and therefore put a heavy tax, in the hope that the evil may be put out of 
existence. As a matter of fact, this serves the purpose of making the evil morel 
secure. I think some of the propositions to cure evils of congestion by taxation will 
have the opposite effect; and they have the defect of not meeting the problem squarely. 
From the counsel of perfection suggested here, namely, the single tax, it is thought 
you can destroy land speculation so congestion would automatically relieve itself. 
If it is to be relieved through any efforts on the part of the government then there 
would be no need of special treatment of the problem. Apart from such a radical 
measure as this, I do not believe changes in taxation will materially affect conges- 
tion. It could be done by increasing the transportation facilities, and absolutely lim- 
iting the size of buildings or the number of persons occupying space and through 
regulating the buildings and the occupants, heights, etc., in other words, all the de- 
tails. Those are the present methods to relieve congestion rather than through any 
immediate change in taxation. 

As to the tax methods proposed on the list before us, the third on the list — to 
help relieve congestion by securing half of the present inheritance tax for local pur- 
poses — that has no more to do with congestion than an airship, and it is no use from 
a practical standpoint in wasting any time in trying to do that. The first reason is 
that the state needs the money. The second reason is that if the State does not get 
the money from the inheritance tax it will get it from some other source, and it is 
almost as broad as it is long, as New York City pays into the treasury from the in- 
heritance tax just about its share. The third reason and a more theoretical one, is 
that the locality has no right to take the money. It has no business to -do so for 
one very practical reason — that you cannot say justly that if half the inheritance tax 
is to go back to the locality in which a man dies, this should be confined to New York 
City, and if you give it back to all the local tax districts, even half of it, you bring 
about a condition where there is at times a very excessive revenue. Suppose that 
half the inheritance tax went back to Orange County, where Mr. Harriman died. 
Those people would have nothing to do but elect themselves to office and spend the 
money. Absolutely they would have no right to it — they have done nothing to earn 
It. But apart from that, the only justification for the inheritance tax is that it is 
imposed for the privilege of inheriting property, and the privilege of inheriting prop- 
erty is one of the great powers of the state as a state or nation, as it would be in 
Europe, but in this country it_ is given by our State governments which govern the 
laws of inheritance or inheriting state property. 



152 

Now as to the fourth proposition, the tax upon skyscrapers, upon cubage, to have 
a tax upon such items comes under taxation by regulation. If you put such a tax 
upon all skyscrapers, or cubage, or tax buildings so as to prevent building to more 
than a certain height, you are destroying the profit from the upper stories of present 
buildings ; but if you do not put a tax greater than the maximum profit, people would 
simply build even higher than they do to-day. I see no relation between the personal 
property tax and congestion as such, at least, that would apply to a repeal of the 
personal property tax in the City of New York. One of the gentlemen was speaking 
of the effect of personal property tax. I know of a manufacturer near here who 
complained to the local assessors for enforcing the personal property tax, and said 
that when his workmen found themselves on the list with $200 or $400 taxed per- 
sonally they moved away, rather than pay this and the poll tax. The manufacturer 
wanted the assessor to forget the personal tax upon his workmen. This may be 
helping to increase congestion in New York City. 

As to the exemption of buildings conforming to certain standards, that might 
have some advantage to commend it as a temporary step to the entire exemption of 
improvements if you want to go that far. I think it would be an exceedingly difficult 
thing to get it through. It would be giving quite a large advantage in many ways 
to the owners of these buildings, but it is doubtful as to how far tenants would profit 
from such a step. 

The owner would be in a class entirely exempt from taxation and would charge 
a little less rent perhaps, but he would not give the profit back to the tenants, and 
I do not know how far it would relieve the congestion in the congested districts. 
But it is also meeting the problem a little by using taxation in connection with regu- 
lation, except that it is the other way round, encouraging the man by not taxing him. 

It is a way of encouraging the builder to build new houses where there are now 
vacant lots and it would therefore tend to increase the demand for land on which 
to erect that type of building. The tendency is, if you have good transportation fa- 
cilities, to increase the value of land in those neighborhoods adapted to the type of 
exempt buildings, all of which brings you back to the first question on the list as to 
a higher tax on land. 

I was rather surprised to hear the advocates of single tax speak in the same 
breath of taxing the unearned increment by taxing a certain amount out of the value 
of land at the Lime ot sale. All attempts to deal with the selling values of land in 
this way are dealing with what in one sense is a legal fiction. The only reason land 
has value at all is that you can get a certain rental out of it. If you keep people 
from collecting rents you destroy values. Now, how are you going to tax the un- 
earned increment which disappears wherever you increase a tax on the rental value 
is a problem I have not yet been able to understand. It is interesting to see how 
that would work out. A man pays a certain amount of money for his land based 
upon the estimated net return, but if he is deprived of a certain amount of his net 
return by an increase in the annual tax, the land will have its selling value reduced. 
The intricacies would amuse one. And if you add a 50 per cent, tax on the un- 
earned increment to the total tax upon the annual value of the land based on the 
selling value of the land, in a lump sum, it certainly would be grinding a man be- 
tween millstones. Now, on the line of this first question, taxing the land at a higher 
rate, which is the same idea as a lower rate on improvements, as I said when I be- 
gan, that is a step toward what has been styled a "counsel of perfection." It is a 
new idea in this country. The relief this would give to congestion is of course! 
problematical. A good many believe it would materially relieve congestion. I think 
if you could adopt some plan, even in the City of New York, of placing a somewhat 
higher rate of tax upon the land, even if such a system was not adopted in the other 
parts of the state, it would somewhat help to relieve the congestion problem. I do 
not think it would have a very material effect until you carry it out more generally 
than in the City of New York, for the reason that in so far as you exempted im- 
provements and made it cheaper to build, and thereupon get rents cheaper and thus 
increase the desirability of living here, you would bring more people here and that 
would have a tendency to increase congestion and therefore increase the value of 
land. This experiment is made in some Canadian cities, where they started the 
policy of exemption of improvements on land, which draws people and increases 
lausiness. I do not think this tendency to attract, people would be so great that there 
need by any fear, as it would automatically check itself; and in the long run, 
of course, such exemptions would be more and more beneficial, as more cities would 
take it up. I think there could be no doubt of that, and of course you have to begin 
somewhere. 

The most practical method for helping the congestion problem for taxation is 



153 

through the policy of exempting improvements. It is largely the same idea whether 
you decrease the tax on improvements or increase the tax on land. There are some 
possible complications. Our special franchises are land; and tangible real estate, 
which is a building value. If the proposition to decrease the rate on irnprovements 
ever assumes the proportions where it would be likely to succeed, the special franchise 
question could then be taken up. 

One reason why it seems it would be fair for the land in a growing community 
to bear the higher rate of tax is that the benefits of public expenditures go so largely 
to increase the value of improvements. We need not talk of who gets the benefits of 
these increased values, or the amounts ; that is an abstract question at the moment. 
The practical question is that the city is collecting and spending every year an enor- 
mous amount of money. A good deal of this is spent on things that may_ not be 
easily seen to be reflected in the increased value of land, but a great part of it is re- 
flected in the higher land value, as street paving and such things, whfch we all know 
and admit tend to increase materially the value of land. Public expenditures tend to 
increase the value of the land in the centres as well as in the outlying districts. 
Therefore you ought to adopt the policy of taking a larger share of the value of 
land. It is extremely hard to say just where the increase does come, but we know 
it does come. We know public improvements will increase the value of land some 
distance away from the improvement as well as near by, because such improvements 
enable the people to reach a business centre. The Brooklyn Bridge, for instance, 
is a shining example of that fact. It has increased values right around the Brooklyn 
Bridge, but the Park Row rents are not nearly as high as the Broadway rents or 
lots, and it has increased the value of the land in all downtown districts. The in- 
creased tax upon these values would help to pay for these public improvements, which, 
in turn, when they are made, will help to increase largely the value of the land. 

That is all, except I would like to answer Mr. Marsh's question directly, to say 
that "The tax on the value of land cannot be shifted to the tenant. I fail to know 
one economist who holds that idea. No practical real estate man holds that the land 
owner to-day collects any less rent than he is able to get. Consequently if he is 
getting all the rent he can get from the tenant or is asking as much for his land 
as he can possibly get to-day, he cannot get more just because his tax goes up. The 
question of how high it is taxed will not affect the rental price." 

E. Statement of Mr. Wm. E. Harmon. 

Mr. Harmon stated that he had been active in real estate operations for twenty- 
five years, and that in his opinion probably the best way to solve the problem of 
congestion would be to double the tax on vacant land, thus reducing the tax on im- 
provements. The question as to who pays the taxes is a very interesting economic 
question. The tax on buildings, it is conceded, is paid by the tenants, while the tax 
on land is ordinarily paid by the owners. The rate of growth of land values has in 
the past been considerably in excess of the increase in the tax charges of the city. 
To make the tax on land double that on buildings is directly opposed to the interests 
of the land owners, but there is an ethical question involved which should be hon- 
estly met. If you increase the tax on land you force construction to offset carrying 
charges. 

Mr. Harmon stated that New York has not been the worst congestion problem, 
but that he thought that conditions were worse in Pittsburgh. Mr. Harmon stated 
that be thought that the conditions of congestion in Boston were due more to selec- 
tion than necessity. In Boston, although it may have been unconscious, there has 
been a tendency to place a disproportionate tax on unoccupied land. 

Prof. Goodnow : In general, how has this been brought about? 

Mr. Harmon in reply cited the town of Wakefield, where he thought the tax de- 
partment had adopted a more or less defined policy of forcing the occupancy of the 
land by increasing the valuation of unoccupied land. In Boston, this tendency has 
brought about a condition where often the assessed value is greater than the intrinsic 
value of the land. So long as the tax bears due proportion to the property nothing 
can be done. This has been partly due to the desire to force the occupancy of the 
land, and partly to the increasing cost of city government. 

Land values around Boston are hardly as high as they were a few years ago ; 
the actual selling price of land is often from IS to 20 per cent, less than in 1890 as 
a result of the high taxes. 

Prof. Goodnow: Is the rate high? 

Mr. Harmon: Yes, $18.00 to $20.00 per thousand. As an example of the as- 
sessed value of the land being higher than the selling price, Mr. Harmon cited an 
instance of recent date when the company which he represents had sold a piece of 
land in Boston for $10,000, the assessed value of which was $13,000. 



154 

Prof. Goodnow asked whether the assessors taxed unoccupied land higher than 
improved land. 

Mr. Harmon replied that they did, though perhaps unconsciously. He stated 
that the minimum housing rate in IBoston is about $1.85 per room for which he could 
get $2.50 or $2.75 in New York City. 

Prof. Goodnow asked Mr. Harmon whether he considered that land values in 
Boston are kept down by values on the outside. 

Mr. Harmon replied that he did, except as to. central business properties. 
Prof. Goodnow asked what the tendency is in Pittsburgh. 

Mr. Harmon stated that in Pittsburgh there are three grades of valuation of 
land — city, urban and rural. Land unoccupied by buildings is assessed at the rural 
or two-third rate. The owners of land hold on to it very closely and the people are 
thereby forced into less space, because it is cheaper to hold land than to build and 
congestion of population results. 

Prof. Goodnow asked whether the high rates around Boston tended to decrease 
land speculation. 

Mr. Harmon replied that they did. He stated that in Boston it is cheaper to pay 
rent than to build houses ; in Pittsburgh, the reverse is true. 

Mr. Harmon stated that it must be remembered that when you make the land 
tax so high that you destroy increment you are apt to depreciate land and thereby put 
a higher tax on other property. Because of the high rate on land, some western 
towns have become bankrupt. Mr. Harmon said he rather fears that the tax rate 
on unoccupied land is too high in Boston. He expressed it as his opinion that in 
New York a step could be taken to increase the charge against the land without 
destr-^ving the element of increment. 

Prof. Goodnow asked whether Mr. Harmon had had any experience with the 
increment tax. 

Mr. Harmon replied that he had net. He repeated that the ethical side must be 
met and the most effective plan would be to destroy the monopoly of land and force 
construction and this would be done by increasing the tax on land. 

Prof. Goodnow asked whether it would have any effect on congestion of pop- 
ulation. 

Mr. Harmon replied that it would. 

Prof. Goodnow suggested that along with this, transit facilities must be increased 
and improved. 

Mr. Harmon replied yes, to a certain extent that would follow. 
He instanced the case of some houses he had been looking at to-day in one of 
the outlying boroughs which rent at the rate of $3.00 per room. They were about 
half a mile from the station. In his opinion, Hebrews and others now living on the 
East Side would take advantage of the better living conditions and lower rents in 
spite of the carfare and half mile walk. 

Mr. Bleecker asked whether Mr. Harmon thought the people now living close to 
their work would go to these localities. 

Mr. Harmon replied that he thought they would go more slowly, but that they 
would go. He stated that the tenement house has a very strong hold, on the people, 
but that anything that will be done to increase the development of the outlying dis- 
tricts will pull away from the tenement houses. The poorest of these people, how- 
ever, cannot go to these localities on account of long hours and low wages. 

Mr. Harmon stated that if you increase the tax on land values it is practically 
the same as an increment tax. 

The secretary replied that it does not give any additional revenue to the city. 
Mr. Harmon stated that he is inclined to think that the assessed land values in 
Brooklyn has increased more rapidly than the intrinsic value within the past five 
years. That it will not be possible to raise land values except in some sections; that 
the land values in Brooklyn are probably stationary for the time being, although they 
are increasing in certain localities. 
The Secretary: For how long? 
Mr. Harmon : I wish I could tell. 

Mr. Harmon told of the recent sale in Brooklyn at $7,500 per lot for which he 
could not have secured more than $3,500 per lot a few years ago. 

The Secretary: What would be the effect of an increment tax on congestion 
of population? 

Mr. Harmon : Purely theoretical. We cannot tell just what effect it would have. 



155 

HON. ALBERT SUDEKUM, MEMBER OF THE REICHSTAG, BEFORE 
THE NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULA- 
TION, OCTOBER, 1910. 

Municipal Taxation and Congestion. 

I thank you very much for the honor you have conferred upon _me by 
askmg me to address the New York City Commission on Congestion _ of 
Population and this distinguished audience. I shall not give you pretentious 
advice, but simply state what some of our greait German cities are doing in the 
same field of activity. Practically every big city in every industrial country must 
face the question of congestion, especially in Germany and in those places in New 
England where the tenement house exists very generally. 

During the whole period of the rapid growth of our German cities we left the 
whole work of town planning and housing to the activity of private individuals. 

We have, of course, in every town a Board of Supervisors, who formerly did 
nothing more than the title of the board indicates; they did nothing on their own 
initiative in the field of town planning. The primary reasons for appointing such 
boards was to secure the community against the dangers of fire and jcarless house 
construction. If you look through the innumerable state and municipal laws concern- 
ing the housing problem as a whole, you soon will see that these reasons are still 
in effect to this very day. The law defines the material out of which the house may 
be constructed, the quantity of light and air which must be provided, the height of 
the house, the width of the street, the material of the roofs, the slope of the staircases 
and a multitude of other details too numerous to mention. 

What they did not do and perhaps could not do was to cope with the problem 
of congestion, as it was manifested in over-population of given districts of every tene- 
ment house and .of every room in such house. A speculative movement in real estate 
bought up and is still buying all the land around the cities and the steadily growing 
industrial centres, enhanced the value of lands, consequently the rents, and forced a 
great part of the population as a consequence of this to live under trying conditions. 

The overcrowded tenements are the graves of civilization and manhood, of hope 
and ambition. About in the same proportion as the value of land increased, the ex- 
penditure of the community for the prevention of crime, sickness and misery increased. 

All this is familiar to you and I have no intention of boring you by repeating 
trite commonplaces. Let us come to the point : The war against these evils and their 
causes. There is no patent medicine which we can take to relieve the congestion of 
population. The problem is a complex one and needs a combination of several reme- 
dies. 

The often advocated measure of municipalization or nationalization of the land 
is not to be treated by this committee, because such measures after all could not be the 
work of one single town ; I, therefore, will not discuss it. 

What we have to do is in my opinion : First, we must extend the area to be used 
for housing purposes; second, we must provide for light and air, and for playgrounds 
and parks in the new quarters; third, we must provide adequate means of transpor- 
tation for every citizen of the community; fourth, we must make our towns beautiful 
when we execute such reforms. 

We soon realize that the whole problem resolves itself into the question, how can 
the land be cheapened. For if the land is inexpensive we can build inexpensive houses 
and spare playgrounds and secure a pretty environment. 

You cannot cheapen the land in the heart of the business section of the city — we 
have no desire to do that — and it would probably be unwise to attempt to cheapen all 
lands used specially for business and not for housing purposes. But there are quan- 
tities of unimproved land, the price of which can be maintained on a reasonable level. 
That is a question of town planning. We ought not to wait until the private enter- 
prise opens up the block around the suburban districts. The present procedure is for 
the private enterpriser to bring the town into the country, what we must do, is to 
bring the country into the town. The municipalities must be given the right not to 
lay out, but to build the roads and streets, as for example the city of Frankfort is 
given the right. The municipality ought to be allowed to lay out its roads and high- 
ways without regard to the boundaries of private property. What we must overcome 
is the pure individualistic dogma, that property rights must not be interfered with. 
May I be permitted to use a simile? To-day I found in the "Outlook" of this week an 
article on vaccination and smallpox. An anti-vaccinationist points out in it the simi- 
larity. Who is so blind as not to see the truth in this reasoning. Now property 
rights are not more sacred than personal rights and private property must defer when 
the needs of the community demand it. The method of compensation is a secondary 
•consideration and may be different in different places. 



156 

But the days of roads and highways are gone. Nobody can afford the time 
necessary to walk to one's business. There must be cheap and efficient means of 
transportation. In my opinion neither the surface cars, the subway or the L ar^ 
the most efficient means of transportation; it is pre-eminently the railway connection 
with the largest number of lines, possibly the state or municipally controlled railway, 
that would be most desirable. As long as the local means of transportation are in the 
hands of private companies that aim only at profit, there is of course little hopes 
of achieving this end. 

But I told you there are several ways of attacking the evil of congestion and if 
under existing conditions one cannot be used, the other can. Even a private company 
will follow in the direction of demand and if the demand migrates to the suburbs, the 
private company will pursue it. Hence it follows that we must accelerate the extension 
of our cities. 

We can do this by forcing the property owners to improve their land. How can 
we do that. The answer is : By taxation. In my country, we generaly tax unimproved 
land double the rate on improved land. The property owner may stand it for a time, 
but he will soon realize that his business requires the improvements. That is to say, 
he begins to build. And that is the desideratum, for we need more houses for 
dwelling purposes. Many housing reformers overlook the fact that it is of no social 
value to expel a horde of tenement inmates from one section and to herd them into 
another. A simple-minded policeman may be content to adopt such methods, he may 
believe that the war against congestion is compared to the crusade against the adul- 
teration of food, but the far-seeing statesman ought to use more intelligent tactics. 
You have no right to destroy one tenement unless you are prepared to open the doors 
of at least two new and better houses. 

Many German towns are beginning to construct houses on their own grounds and 
at their own expense. For instance, the town of Ulm constructed in eighteen years 
more than four hundred houses for working people in 1908 alone, forty-eight family 
houses costing 1,850,000 marks; the same town supports a number of co-operative 
housing societies: it owns more than two-thirds of the whole area; it is continually 
buying more land and does not sell a square foot of it. This example of Ulm has 
been followed by many other towns and is acknowledged to be the best preventative 
of congestion. But it may be a question if the method can be carried out on a larger 
scale in our greater cities — our capitals of industry. 

Town planning as I described it above is a very expensive undertaking for a muni- 
cipality. As a consequence the question of how to provide the money arises. There 
is plenty of money in the world, and: all we have to do is to take it from those who 
can earn it without toil and sweat. This brings me to the taxation of unearned in- 
crement. While discussing this question, bear in mind that there is a definite re- 
lation between the increase of population and the increase of land values. In Berlin 
every newly born infant or every immigrant who settles there is estimated to raise the 
land value about 1,000 marks, and in Greater New York the proportion will probably 
be about the same. Part of the increase of value should go to the community which 
creates it. The taxation of unearned increment has a double effect. It checks the 
speculation on estates values and it affords more money to the municipality over and 
above the regular assessments. In my country the taxation of unearned increment is 
so very popular that our imperial government is now trying to have it operate through- 
out the empire. At least 1,200 large and small places have it already, and the reports 
show that the results are most satisfactory everywhere. Of course, in Germany it 
is still in its infancy and the schemes are almost all very tame. It is my opinion there 
.is no reason to restrict this taxation to too small a margin. The higher the margin 
the better the effect. To sum up, I do not advocate a single remedy for congestion, 
be it a single tax or another one. I believe that the question is far too complex and 
baffling to deal with it without the use of different methods. 

Where there is a will there is a way. It is a moral crime that our cities, as great 
and magnificent as they are, should postpone the solution of the crying problem until 
it has attained to such proportion as to inflict incalculable misery and suffering on fu- 
ture generations. The people will be the happiest and will surpass all others, which 
first overcome this great difficulty. I can see by the quality of your commission that 
the far-reaching importance of this question has come home to my American brethren, 
and for their sake and the common cause of humanity, I wish you every success. 

Mr. A. C. Pleydell : The tax on unearned increment as I understand it is a 
revenue upon profits made out of selling land. Is this correct? 

Dr. Sudekum : Yes, that is correct. The seller pays the tax on community earned 
increment and not the purchaser, so that the municipality gets part of the increase in 
the value of land instead of the man who sells it. The increases in the value of land 
from 1897 to 1907 were very marked in many German cities. 



157 

Mr. C. R. Lamb : Are there any laws in Germany which restrict the heights of 
buildings and so prevent congestion of population? 

Dr. Sudekum : Yes, the State laws are very strict and the heights of buildings are 
two stories in small towns and villages, three stories in large cities, and five stories in Ber- 
lin, and in most of the large cities also, there is a series of districts or zones in which 
all buildings must not exceed a specified height or number of stories, and must not 
cover more than a designated proportion of the lot area, and these regulations apply 
only to each district, so that in the centre of cities where land values are high, the 
higher buildings are permitted; in the outlying districts, only low buildings with large 
yards are permitted. Taxation lowers the price of land in Germany. 

Prof. Goodnow : Has anything been done to distribute factories? 

Dr. Sudekum : Yes. In Berlin, no new factories are allowed in the centre of the 
city, and the location of factories is prohibited in other sections of the city. 

Mr. C. R. Lamb : What is the limit of space between tenements and factories 
districts? 

Dr. Sudekum: This varies in different cities. In Frankfort-on-the-Main, the 
two districts are continuous, while there are certain districts (Gemischte Viertel) in 
which both factories and tenements are permitted. Frankfort-on-the-Main was par- 
ticularly fortunate in that the city owned a large amount of land along the river front, 
and improved it for factory sites, renting the sites on long leases. Cologne merely 
enacted laws prohibiting the location of new factories in designated districts, but did 
not evict any already started. 

Mr. Otto David asked whether the tax on the unearned increment would tend 
to create and enforce better buildings and larger rooms. 

Dr. Sudekum : It has that effect. 

The Secretary : Do you think it more economical to prohibit factories in cer- 
tain districts and for the City to construct belt lines or lines for carrying freight 
which would merely pay for the investment without netting any profit if necessary, 
than to construct expensive lines of transit for passengers? 

Dr. Sudekum : Unquestionably the former method for the City to construct 
belt lines is the more economical and better for the workingman since it would save 
time and carfare. 

Mr. A. C. Pleydell : Is the tax upon land heavy in Germany? 

Dr. Sudekum : Yes ; it is about as heavy on the average as in this country. 

Mr. J. C. Pumpelly : In view of the ditlerence in administration between 
American and German cities, do you think it wise for American cities to under- 
take the same policies and methods as have been adopted in Germany? 

Dr. Sudekum : I am unable to answer. The policies which have been adopted 
in Germany have been successful there. 

Table Comparing the Tax Levy on Land and on Buildings in Each Borough of New 
York to Raise the Tax Levy on Ordinary Real Estate of $115,080,377.79 in 1910, if 
Land Were Taxed at the Same Rate as Improvements and Twice the Rate on Im- 
provements. 



Levy on Im- Levy on Im- 

Levy on Land. Levy on Land. provements. provements. 

Borough. Uniform Rate. Double Rate. Uniform Half Rate 

Rate. on Land. 

Manhattan $51,019,522 19 $63,727,91117 $26,165,836 66 $16,293,833 22 

The Bronx 4,666,706 04 5,829,98149 3,111,137 36 1,937,947 38 

Brooklyn 10,809,279 27 13,077,043 38 12,536,896 27 7,570,304 32 

Queens 3,624,257 83 4,391,115 40 1,951,523 46 1,182,013 24 

Richmond 633,465 91 741,928 35 561,752 80 328,236 04 



Total $70,753,231 24 $87,767,979 79 $44,327,146 55 $27,312,334 20 



158 

Table Comparing the Tax Levy on Land and on Buildings in Each Borough of New- 
York to Raise the Tax Levy on Ordinary Real Estate of $115,080,377.79 in 1910, if 
Land Were Taxed at the Same Rate as Improvements and Twice the Rate on Im- 
provements. 



Borough. 



Total Levy; 
Uniform Rate. 



Total Levy 

With Land 

Taxed Double 

Rate on 
Improvements. 



Difference in 
Levy on Land 

Between 

Two Methods 

of Taxation. 



Manhattan $77,185,350 85 $80,021,744 39 +$12,708,388 98 

The Bronx 7,777,843 40 7,767,928 80 +1,163,275 45 

Brooklyn 23,346,175 54 20,647,347 70 +2,267,764 11 

Queens 5,575,78129 5,573,128 64 +766,857 57 

Richmond 1,195,218 71 1,070,164 39 +108,462 44 

Total *$1 15,080,377 79 *$115,080,313 99 +$17,014,748 55 



Table Comparing the Tax Levy on Land and on Buildings in Each Borough of New 
York to Raise the Tax Levy on Ordinary Real Estate of $115,080,377.79 in 1910, if 
Land Were Taxed at the Same Rate as Improvements and Twice the Rate on Im- 
provements. 



Borough. 



Difference in Levy 

on Improvements 

Between Two 

Methods. 



Result in Levy if 
Land be Taxed 
Twice the Rate 
on Improve- 
ments. 



Manhattan —$9,872,003 44 

The Bronx —1,173,189 98 

Brooklyn ■ —4,966,591 95 

Queens —769,510 22 

Richmond —233,516 76 

Total —$17,014,812 35 



+$2,836,385 54 

—91,914 53 

—2,698,827 84 

—2,652 65 

—125,054 32 



Table showing the saving in taxes on several kinds of buildings in 1910 if land 
were taxed at double the rate on buildings to raise the total levy on ordinary real 
estate in 1910 exclusive of "real estate of corporations" and "special franchises." 

The tax rate in each borough in 1910 was as follows, on $100 assessed value : 

Manhattan and The Bronx $1.75790 

Brooklyn 1.81499 

Queens 1.81779 

Richmond 1.87501 

The tax rate in the county varies because county expenses are a county charge. 
The tax rate on land if double that on buildings would have been in 1910, $2,193+, and 
on buildings, $1,096+. 

+ Means increase in levy. — Means decrease in levy. - 

* The difference between these totals is due to one-hundredth of 1 per cent, in the 
varying tax levy of counties. 



159 



The tax rate for purposes of comparison is taken for each borough : 



Assessed Assessed Tax With 

Type of Building. Land Values. Building Values. 1910 Rates. 

Manhattan and The Bronx — ^^„ ^^„ ^„ ^»-,<, ^. 

1. Large tenement $12,000 00 $30,000 00 $737 94 

^""""z^^hTrgt tenement 10,000 00 28,000 00 689 32 

The^Bronx- ^^^_^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ 

Brook yn— ^^ ^^^.^^^ ^ qqq qq 5 5qq qq 117 91 

5. Three family 1,000 00 5,000 00 108 60 

Brooklyn— ^^^^ 20,000 00 40,000 00 1,088 40 

Manhattan— ^ building 1,000,000 00 750,000 00 30,747 50 

Tax Rate. . 

Tax In 1910 If Land 
Were Taxed Double Saving With 

Type of Building. Rate on Buildings. Double Rate. Per Cent. 

Manhattan and. The Bronx— . . ^ ,^ „ 

1. Large tenement ... . $59196 $14598 19.7 

Brooklyn — ^.~ , . ^-, ^ 

2. Large tenement 526 18 163 14 23.7 

The Bronx — ^ ^^ ,^ ^ 

3. Three family 125 10 24 24 16.2 

Brooklyn — „_ „^ 

4. Three family 82 21 33 70 30. 

Queens — 

5. Three family 75 73 32 87 30. 

Brooklyn — ^„ ^ 

6. Factory 877 00 21140 19.4 

Manhattan — ^^ . 

7. Office building .... 30,15200 595 50 01-9 

This table illustrates the fact that the nearer the land value approaches the value 
of the building the smaller will be the saving to the owner if land is taxed double 
the rate of taxation on buildings. The most marked savings through the proposed 
system is in the case of small tenements in boroughs outside of Manhattan where land 
is relatively cheap. In the case of large office buildings on land of great value this 
saving will be relatively small. 

Table showing the comparative approximate amount that would have been paid 
by each borough of New York under a 5 per cent tax on net or clear increase of 
assessed value of land from 1909 to 1910. 

Note — The amount assessed in each borough for street widenings upon prop- 
erty benefited could not be ascertained for the year 1909, but the total for the four 
years, 1905 to 1908, was as follows: ^oo^a^oao'7 

Manhattan $?,'°lo' .^^ oC- 

The Bronx ^'?S'4 5 ?? 

Brooklyn 4.537,214 51 

Queens ^^4,455 07 

Richmond , 108,994 80 

This amount, plus the amount expended by the owner of property for this pur- 
pose and for parks, playgrounds, streets, sidewalks, transit, etc., is deducted for 
every parcel before the increase is computed, and these expenditures are much larger 
proportionately in all boroughs outside of Manhattan, and would hence reduce the 
total amount to be collected from each borough. It is fair to assume, however, that 
one-fifth of the total gross increase in assessed land values each year in all boroughs,, 



160 



except Manhattan, is expended for the purposes referred to, and one-tenth in Man- 
hattan. 

Amount that would 
be secured from a 
Net increase in assessed tax of 5 per cent Per cent 

Borough. land values, 1909 to 1910 on net increase of 

of land value Total 

Manhattan $67,908,843 00 $3,395,442 15 65.97 

The Bronx 11,267,77100 563,388 55 11.27 

Brooklyn 9,303,607 00 465,180 35 9.31 

Queens 11,424,617 00 571,230 85 11.43 

Richmond *46,818 00 

Total $99,904,838 00 $4,995,241 90 100.00 

* The assessed land value of Richmond decreased. 

Since the value of land in the 1911 assessment is full value any increase here- 
after will be bona fide increase in actual value and not due to increasing the rate of 
assessment. 

Form of a Progressive Tax Upon Increases in Land Values. 

The German form of taxation is a moderate increase paid at time of transfer. 
Copy of a Bill for Saxony of January 26, 1904. 

Section 53. In all communes having a population of more than 10,000, an incre- 
ment tax proportioned to the increase in value is to be paid by the transferrer in 
case of change in ownership of unimproved (umbebaut) land. 

Under exceptional local conditions the levy of an increment tax may be required 
by the supervising authorities in communes of less than 10,000 inhabitants. This 
levy is to take place if the commune may be regarded as a suburb or if an unusual 
increase of population has taken place in it. 

Section 57. The amount of the increment tax shall be: 

If the increase of value is 5 to 20 per cent of the purchase value (erwerbswert), 
at least 5 per cent of the increase. 

If the increase of value is 20 to 30 per cent of the purchase value, at least 10 per 
cent of the increase. 

If the increase of value is 30 to 40 per cent of the purchase value, at least 15 
per cent of the increase. 

If the increase of value is 40 to 50 per cent of the purchase value, at least 20 
per cent of the increase. 

If the increase of value is over 50 per cent of the purchase value, at least 25 per 
cent of the increase. 

If the increase in value is less than 5 per cent, there shall be no increment tax. 

Section 58. The purchase value shall be that value which the land has for its 
actual utilization on the part of the seller, or if there is no actual utilization, such 
value as it would have under appropriate agricultural use. 

Schemes for Berlin Progressive Taxation on Land and Improvements. 
_ Section 7. In addition to the tax stated in section 1 (transfer tax, Umsatzsteuer) 
an increment tax shall be levied in case the present purchase price of market value of 
the land shall exceed by 10 per cent, the price of value at the last change in owner- 
ship, regard being had to the allowances stated in section 9. For the levy of this 
additional tax it is immaterial whether the last preceding change in ownership has 
taken place before or after this ordinance goes into effect. 

Section 8. The amount of the increment tax shall be as follows: 

5 per cent, of the increase in value, if this increase in value is more than 10 and 
up to 20 per cent. 

6 per cent, of the increase in value, if this increase in value is more than 20 and' 
up to 30 per cent. 

7 per cent, of the increase in value, if this increase in value is more than 30 and 
up to 40 per cent. 

8 per cent, of the increase in value, if this increase in value is more than 4Q !and 
up to 50 per cent. 

9 per cent, of the increase in value, if this increase in value is more than 50 and 
up to 60 per cent. 

And so on, 1 per cent, of the increase in value up to a miximum of 20 per cent. 



161 

For improved sites these rates shall be levied only if five years at most have 
passed betw^een the last preceding and the current change of ownership. If more 
than five years and less than ten have elapsed, two-thirds of these rates shall be levied; 
if more than ten years have elapsed, one-third. 

For unimproved sites the increment tax shall be two-thirds of these rates if more 
than ten years and less than twenty have elapsed since the last preceding change in 
ownership, andt one-third if more than twenty years have elapsed. If the earlier 
purchase price or market value cannot be ascertained, then supplements to the present 
selling price shall take the place of the increment tax. These supplements shall for 
improved sites, be : 

After 10 at 20 years, 1 per cent. For unimproved sites : 

After 20 at 30 years, V/i per cent. After 10 at 20 years, I per cent . 

After 30 at 40 years, 2 per cent. After 20 at 30 years, 2 per cent. 

Over 40 years, 2]^ per cent. After 30 at 40 years, 3 per cent. 

Over 40 years, 4 per cent. 

Section 9. In ascertaining the increase in value taxable under Section 8, the base 
shall be the former purchase price, but to this are to be added the f ollowmg ■ 

1. All expenses for permanent improvement of the land, including expenses for 
building streets and for connections with sewers. Expenses for remodelling or im- 
provements are not to be taken into account, so far as covered by insurance payments. 

2. In case of unimproved sites, which the transferer has not himself used for 
agricultural or manufacturing purposes, 4 per cent, interest of the preceding purchase 
price, less all receipts. Where land has been given without compensation for streets 
or public places, the whole purchase price remains attributable to the remaining land, 
and in case of division is to be attributed to the several parcels. No other additions are 
permissible. Any difference between the previous purchase price, supplemented by 
the allowances herein provided, and the present selling value, is to be regarded as an 
increase of value. 

Taxation on Increase of Land Value. 

The small increase of taxation on land values in Berlin and other German cities 
is particularly due to the fact that there are so many restrictions, even in the centre of 
the city, upon buildings, so that until within a comparatively few years there has been 
a relatively small amount of speculation and increase of land values in the inner part 
of the city. The proposition for an increment tax in Berlin was defeated particularly 
because of the proponderent influence of real estate owners in the city due to their 
property qualifications for the suffrage. As high as 500 fold profit has been made 
upon land in the suburbs of Berlin within the last twenty years. A similar condition 
prevails in Manhattan and in New York and justifies the rapid increase and progres- 
sion of taxation on increase in land values. Several of the large real estate operators 
have within a few years after purchase sold their land unimproved for from three 
to torty times the amount they had paid for it. 

The following exemptions are made in certain German cities before the in- 
creased taxation since the object upon which the increment tax is levied is the unearned 
increase of value of real estate during a specified period. Most of the following 
allowances commonly specified in the German systems might be permitted in assessing 
the increment taxes in American cities. 

1. All expenses for permanent improvement of the property, especially for addi- 
tions or rebuilding, provided these have not been met out of the insurance receipts, 
expenses for repairs and the like may not be deducted, since these serve not to m- 
crease the value of the property, but only to maintain it. 

2. Expense for street building and for sewer connections. 

3. Expenses resulting from the mere change in ownership, such as taxes, registry 
and legal fees, transfer taxes and thelike. These deductions are, however, not allowed 
in all the tax ordinances. Where this allowance is provided for, it is usually by way 
of lump sum or general allowance — -sometimes a general 5 per cent, allowance, some- 
times 3 per cent, and sometime 3 per cent, for unimproved land and 5 per cent, for 
improved. 



162 



Proportion of the Total Tax on Land, Total Tax on Buildings and Grand Total 
and Per cent, of City Budget that would have been paid by ordinary real estate in 
each Borough in 1910, if land were taxed at twice the rate that buildings were taxed 
to raise the total levy on ordinary real estate: 



Tax on 
Borough. Land 

at $2.19358. 

Manhattan $63,727,911 17 

The Bronx 5,829,981 49 

Brooklyn 13,077,043 38 

Queens 4,391,115 40 

Richmond 741,928 35 

Total $87,767,979 79 



Per Cent, of Per Cent, of 

New York Total of Per Cent. 

Tax on New York of City 

Land. Tax Levy. Budget. 



72.63 


48.46 


39.06 


6.64 


4.45 


3.57 


14.89 


9.94 


8.01 


5.00 


3.34 


2.69 


.84 


.56 


.45 



100.00 



66.73 



53.78 



Borough. 



Per Cent, of Per Cent, of 

Tax on New York Total of Per Cent. 

BIdgs. Tax on New York of City 

at $1.09679. Bldgs. Tax Levy. Budget. 



Manhattan $16,293,833 22 

The Bronx 1,937,947 38 

Brooklyn 7,570,304 32 

Queens 1,182,013 24 

Richmond 328,536 04 

Total $27,312,334 20 



59.65 


12.39 


9.98 


7.09 


1.47 


1.1^ 


27.71 


5.76 


4.65 


4.33 


0.89 


0.73 


1.22 


0.25 


0.23 



100.00 



20.76 



16.77 



Borough. 



Total Tax. 



Per Cent, 
of N. Y. 
Total Tax. 



Per Cent, 
of City 
Budget. 



Manhattan $80,021,744 39 

The Bronx 7,767,928 87 

Brooklyn 20,647,347 70 

Queens 5,573,128 64 

Richmond 1,070,164 39 

Total $115,080,313 99 



60.85 


49.04 


5.90 


4.75 


15.70 


12.66 


4.23 


3.42 


0.81 


0.68 



87.49 



70.55 



REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, ALDERMAN ALEXANDER 

DUJAT, CHAIRMAN. 

In submitting these recommendations which call for the expenditure of large 
sums of money by the City, the Committee wish to call attention to a few facts 
broughtout by their investigations and hearings, and based upon their own knowledge 
of conditions in the City. 

It is not claimed that the death rate of New York City is extremely high com- 
pared with the death rate of some other cities. Dr. W. H. Guilfoy, Registrar of the 
Bureau of Records of the Department of Health, submits the following statement ta 
the Committee : 

"New York's death rate in 1909 was 16.00 per 1000. 

Foreign Cities. 

London 14.00 per 1000. 

Berlin 15.10 per 1000. 

Vienna 16.8 per 1000. 

Paris 17.4 per 1000. 

Munich 17.6 per 1000. 

Rome 19.3 per 1000. 

Venice 22.1 per 1000. 

St. Petersburg 24.6 per 1000. 

Moscow 29.6 per 1000. 



: 163 

American Cities. 

Chicago 14.1 per 1000. 

Philadelphia 15.8 per 1000. 

Boston , 17.7 per 1000. 

Compared with other cities, the crude death rate of New York City is somewhat 
higher than some and lower than others. The Committee on Congestion should not 
fall into the error that the crude death rate of a city is an accurate measure of that 
city's salubrit}', as compared with that of other cities whose crude death rate may be 
lower. The death rate of any town, city or country is dependent upon a considerable 
number of factors, and the most important of these are the sex and age groupings or 
distribution of population. A city with a very high birth rate like New York City 
will have a considerable number of children living in it under the ages of five years, 
at which age the death rate is very high, consequently this would increase the mor- 
tality considerably above other cities in which the birth rate is comparatively low. 
We find as a matter of fact that the birth rate in all the large cities of the world, 
with the probable exception of New York, has been decreasing within the past ten 
years, and that this decrease in the birth rate has gone hand and hand with a decrease 
in the crude or general death rate, due to the comparatively small number of chil- 
dren under the ages of five j^ears, at which age the mortality is excessive. 

When this department receives the figures showing the sex and age-groupings 
of the City of New York, as enumerated in the Federal Census of this year, it; 
will be in a position to make accurate comparisons between the death rate of New 
York City and that of some of the other cities of the world. Until this is done, 
we maintain that New York City is equal to, if not superior, to any large city in 
the world from the point of view of healthfulness." 

While admitting that the crude death rate of New York City is not higher than 
many other large cities of the country, it must be remembered that New York 
City is a combination of five boroughs with very different conditions, varying in 
density of population and extent of room overcrowding. The density of popula- 
tion per acre in each of the boroughs in 1905 and 1910 was as follows : 

Density per acre. 



Borough. 1905. 1910. 

Manhattan ' 149.8 166.08 

The Bronx 10.4 16.5 

Brooklyn 27.27 32.8 

Queens 2.3 3.4 

Richmond 1.9 2.3 

The density per acre for a borough or ward even is, however, misleading, as 
there are tens of thousands of the nearly eighty-three thousands of Queens prac- 
tically without an inhabitant, and about half of Manhattan's population is crowded 
on to less than one-fifth of its area. 

The indisputable fact remains, however, that New York's death rate is much 
higher than it need be and it is the opinion of your Committee that it can and should 
be materially decreased, since the loss of 25,000 to 30,000 lives a year from preventable 
deaths in the city is a serious fact which no civilized city can afford to neglect as 
New York has done in the past. 

Thus had New York's death rate been low as in 1908, as was London's, there 
would have been over 12,000 fewer deaths, or about one-seventh less. While it is 
true that New York City has a high birth rate, as Dr. Guilfoy states, it is also true 
that it has a large annual increment of population of healthy and strong immigrants 
to offset this high birth rate. Unfortunately, the records of the Bureau of Immigra- 
tion show the destination of immigrants only by states instead of by cities in states, 
so that it is not possible to determine exactly how many immigrants arrived in New 
York City during each year. It is fair to assume, however, that about the same? 
proportion of immigrants remained in New York City for a time as went to the 
rest of the state. Out of a grand total of 256,425 immigrants who gave their des- 
tination as New York State in 1908, only 83,403 were women and children, and per- 
sons without occupation, or about one-third, and out of a total of 220,865 immigrants 
giving this state as their destination in 1909, only 75,829 were women and children 
and persons without occupation, again about one-third, while out of 280,880 in 
1910, only 73,859 were women and children and_ persons without occupation — about 
one-fourth. Thus it will be noted that the population of the city is increased each 



164 

year by a large number of adult and healthy immigrants to offset the high birth 
rate to which Dr. Guilfoy refers. 

Neither does it follow that because there is a high birth rate that there need be 
a high death rate among children under five years of age. Thus in Bourneville, a 
garden city only three miles from Birmingham, England, the death rate among chil- 
dren under five years of age was only 72.5 per 1,000 live births for four years, 1902- 
1905, while the birth rate was about 40 per 1,000. 

In Port Sunlight, a similar garden city across the Mersey from Liverpool, where 
the conditions as to air, sunlight, space, etc., are unquestionably of the best possible 
for any working class, the birth rate has been 42.6 per 1,000, and the death rate foK 
eight years only 9.6 to the thousand. The Registrar General of England in his re- 
port for 1907 says:_ "Speaking broadly, excessive waste of infant life is generally 
associated with a high birth rate, overcrowding, and the industrial employment of 
women." It is well known that both the industrial employment of women and 
"sweatshop labor" of women as well as tenement manufacture is an almost inevitable 
feature of congested life in New York City. As has, however, been demonstrated 
from the examples of Bourneville and Port Sunlight, a high birth rate does not 
mean necessarily a high death rate. 

The Department of health recently included the following as preventable dis- 
eases — Typhoid Fever, Pneumonia, Broncho-pneumonia, Smallpox, Cerebro-Spinal 
Menegitis, Diphtheria and Croup, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Whooping Cough, Diar- 
rhoeal diseases, Tuberculosis Pulmonalis. 

The total riumber of deaths from Typhoid Fever, Pneumonia, Broncho-Pneu- 
monia, Diphtheria, Smallpox, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Tuberculosis and Diarrhceal 
diseases in New York City during the four years, 1905 to 1908, inclusive, was as 
follows : 

Under 5. 5-12. 20-69. Total. 

55,870 8^093 51,379 115,342 

The total deaths .from these causes in 1909 was 28,700. 

The deaths from Diarrhceal diseases alone during this period were 5,380, chiefly, 
of course, among children five years of age or under. The Committee recognizes 
that not all of these deaths are attributable to room overcrowding, overdensity per 
acre, or even bad housing conditions. It is evident that poisoned milk fed to an 
infant will be as apt to kill it as living in a dark interior room. Its recommendations 
therefore cover this question of better inspection of milk and other municipal action 
in securing a wholesome supply of pure, cheap milk. The fact remains, however, 
that from the standpoint of the health and efficiency of the city's industrial popula- 
tion the loss of a thousand infants a year is not as serious as the loss of the same 
number of able-bodied men and women of working age — that is, of the immediately 
potential producers. New York City has relied upon the annual influx of scores of 
thousands of immigrants to take the places of the thousands of adult men and 
women who are annually murdered by permitting them to' live in the unsanitary and 
hopelessly dark rooms of the overcrowded tenements and to work in unsanitary 
factories and at starvation wages. 

The statistics furnished by the Health Departments and compiled in foreign 
cities prove conclusively that the greater the density of population per acre and the 
larger the number of occupants per room the higher the death rates and as well 
the sickness rates. Admittedly the death rates among Jews is lower than among 
Italians living at the same density of population. Corrections need to be made for 
age, sex and race, but no classification or refinement of statistics can hide the fact 
that the death rate of New York City is higher than it need be by several points 
and that two most important causes of this surplus rate is the overcrowding of rooms 
and the occupancy of dark rooms whose occupancy is sanctioned by the present 
Tenement House Law. This law permits nine persons, two adults and seven chil- 
dren under twelve, to occupy three small rooms with a cubic air space of only 2,340 
cubic feet. 

Dr. W. H. Parks stated to the Committee : "I can state from my own knowledge 
that the more overcrowding you have, the more sickness and deaths there will be. 
As to the actual amount of such increase I have no statistics and so cannot state 
definitely. It is the opinion of all those who have studied this question that we. have 
increased sickness in overcrowded rooms, and increased mortality among those 
sick, not only more sick, but of those that are sick more deaths. This is especially 
true of communicable diseases. Overcrowded rooms mean less fresh air for indi- 
viduals and therefore we now know less chance for recovery." Dr. Park stated, 



165 

"If possible, not more than two persons should sleep in the ordinary small city room," 
and recommended that persons have as nearly as possible 1,000 cubic feet of air 
space. Dr. Woods Hutchinson also stated, "Broadly speaking, the mortality _ rate 
in any city or in any ward varies directly with the density of population, the higher 
the density of population the higher the mortality." He advocated that the minimum 
cubic air space that should be required is 600 cubic feet for an adult and 400 cubic 
feet for children, while 1,000 cubic feet should for ideal conditions be required for 
adults and 600 cubic feet for children. 

Dr. Abraham Jacobi stated: "There is no possibility of eradicating tuberculosis 
while people are crowded together as now in a few rooms. We can't stop diphtheria 
and measles and other contagious diseases as long_ as we have this congestion. _ Tu- 
berculosis is called consumption, but there is a difference; where there is a single 
case of consumption the whole family is doomed unless theyare removed. We have 
been preaching rest, good food and sunlight and sending to institutions. 

"Advanced cases shouldn't be permitted to remain in their homes, as they will 
exterminate the whole family, but should be removed and cared for. Tuberculosis 
can be exterminated by taking care of incipient cases, but those in the last stages 
must be especially cared for. In one city institution there are 360 people where there 
should be only 150." 

Similar evidence as to physical results of overcrowding is furnished by the sta- 
tisticians and medical officers of several English cities as noted earlier in this report. 

The Committee in making the following recommendations does so distinctly^ on 
the basis of securing the minimum healthy conditions of living essential to an efficient 
citizenship and does not understand it to be any part of their functions to discuss 
or even consider the cost of securing a reasonably healthy standard of, living. To 
fail to recommend a reasonable standard of health would be to admit that New York 
with all its wealth still finds it cheaper to kill people than to ensure for them healthy 
homes. 

The following are the facts regarding New York's health upon which the Com- 
mittee bases their recommendations : 

There are about 135,000 people constantly sick in New York City. There are 
35,000 to 40,000 people constantly being cared for in the hospitals of the city, the 
great majority of them either in the city's hospitals or in hospitals which receive 
a per capita or per diem appropriation from the city for the patients they care for. 

There are nearly 10,000 deaths a year from consumption and about 28,000 new 
cases of consumption every year, and those totals cannot be materially reduced so 
long as the occupancy of dark roms and unsanitary factories is permitted, and the 
city fails to make adequate provision for the care or cure of tuberculous patients. 

There are from 25,000 to 30,000 deaths from preventable diseases in the city 
annually. Of the 125,000 babies born in New York annually about 16,000, one in every 
eight, die. The death rates in congested blocks and overcrowded rooms in the city 
are much higher than those among the same races and ages living in less crowded 
conditions. The economic waste from certain preventable diseases in the city — that 
is, the loss of wages of men and women who die of these diseases — amounts in New 
York City to from $37,000,000 to $41,000,000 annually. 

Congestion of population is contributing very largely to the $10,000,000 a year 
which New York City spends annually on her departments for the prevention and 
the cure of diseases. 

This waste of life can be materially lessened by aggressive action by the city 
itself, with the expenditure of enough money. 

The Committee therefore makes the following specific recommendations : 

Whereas the requirements of the present Tenement House Law are that there 
shall be not less than 400 cubic feet of air space for every adult and 200 cubic feet 
of air space for every child under twelve years of age, and this is evidently not 
a sufficient provision of air space to comply with the requirements of health. The 
Committee recommends that the requirement be increased to 600 cubic feet of air 
space for every adult and 400 cubic feet of air space for every child under twelve 
years. In view of the very great difficulty, however, of enforcing a regulation of 
this kind throughout the city, since the requirements of cubage and dimensions of 
rooms in tenement houses has varied in the different Tenement House Laws which 
have been enacted during the past 35 years, the Committee feels that the standard 
should be enforced only for the apartments instead of for each room. They rec- 
ognize that this is not an ideal arrangement, but if in the judgment of the Commis- 
sion it is feasible to require this cubage and provision of air space by rooms in 
tenements hereafter to be constructed and provisions for this cubage for apartments 
in buildings already standing and constructed prior to some date to be set in the 
future, the Committee would so recommend. 



166 

The law on overcrowding as it stands on the statute book at present is abso- 
lutely a dead letter and more effective means must be adopted to secure its enforce- 
ment than have heretofore been adopted. 

First. — The Committee therefore recommends that the Tenement House Depart- 
mentbe requested to have placards prepared stating the maximum number of occupants 
permitted by_ law to occupy every apartment, or, if it be deemed feasible, every room, 
and that legislation be enacted requiring the owner of the house or his responsible 
agent to keep a record of the number of occupants of each apartment which he rents, 
and also legislation requiring the occupant or lessee of apartments to file an appli- 
cation with the landlord for each lodger whom he takes. In view of the fact more- 
over that so large a proportion of the population of the city live in one and two- 
family houses and that in all probability this proportion will increase in the near 
future with the spread of Manhattan's congested population to the other boroughs 
of the City, the Committee recommend that the same requirements as to cubic air 
space in apartments of one and two-family houses should be enacted into law and 
that similar provisions should be made for the enforcement of this provision by 
the creation of a bureau charged with this duty in the Department of Health. 

Second. — Ample evidence has been brought before the Committee on Health, 
that the perpetuation of consumption in the city is inevitable if people are permitted 
to occupy dark interior rooms and tenements into which no sunlight ever penetrates. 
The testimony on this point has been unequivocal. 

Dr. W. H. Parks stated : "The best of my knowledge and belief is that three- 
quarters of those now known to have consumption will die without regard to what 
can be done for them, and it is only in the early stages that recovery is possible for 
a large percentage, so that there are some 20,000 in New York City that must die 
from the progress of the disease they now have." He stated further "that prob- 
ably 90 per cent, of these are adults and that most fatal cases of tuberculosis occur 
either in the first year of life or after reaching adult size. The most important thing 
is to supply a place where good air and good light can be got away from the city. 
Next to that give them rooms with good air and good light in the city and sufficient 
suitable food if they cannot afford it themselves. Every case removed from the city 
and made comfortable itself will remove one centre of infection. At the present 
time the number of tuberculosis cases in the city remains the same. That is, we 
have as many cases each year as the year before. This means, however, a less 
percentage of the whole population, because the city is rapidly increasing its popula- 
tion." Dr. Parks stated that he anticipated the same number of deaths annually, 
approximately 10,000, under our present method of treatment. He also stated that 
if an immigrant contracted tuberculosis elsewhere he would be more likely to suc- 
cumb to it because the room was dark and would be more likely to affect others in 
it. He stated also that any one that has had consumption should always live in the 
best possible conditions as to light and air space. It is even dangerous, he claimed, 
for a tuberculous person who has recovered after leaving the city to return to it 
and go back into the office work or ordinary city occupations. 

Dr. Woods Hutchinson stated that in his judgment it is not possible to extermi- 
nate tuberculosis if occupancy either for living or working purposes of the ordinary 
interior rooms, lighted only by a window from an outside dark room, which room 
itself is lighted from a narrow air shaft 3 feet or 4 feet wide is permitted. He 
suggested : "There should be such changes in the Tenement House Law or in the 
interpretation of it as to prohibit the use of those dark rooms, those that are tech- 
nically to be regarded as light, those that open into another room. No room in which 
it is not possible to read in the centre of the floor during all hours of daylight is fit 
for human occupancy." He remarked further : "I should say that as contrasted with 
other cities, the housing conditions here played a very considerable part in the preva- 
lence of tuberculosis, because wages are higher here, food is better, hours for labor 
are shorter and the climate is better than in the majoritj'^ of great Europan cities, 
and we have a large amount of sunlight as compared with other cities." 

The Committee therefore recommends that a permanent Board of Condemnation 
for the condenmation or ordering vacation of unsanitary buildings, dwellings, apart- 
ments, rooms and tenements, be created, which shall devote its entire time to the 
inspection of the scores of dark rooms in tenements, factories and dwellings in this 
city which are continuing the number of deaths from consumption. It is evident 
that the mere cutting of a window 4 by 7 feet from one dark room into another is 
absolutely inadequate to make the room fit for human habitation or even occupancy, 
and that many of these rooms must be permanently closed or at least permanently 
vacated. Many of the buildings are in themselves so serious a menace that they 
should be closed. The Committee is aware that some immigrants are careless in 
reference to this matter and absolutely indifferent, but the interests of the city re- 



167 

quire that they should be protected against themselves if necessary, since they come 
here robust, having to pass a very careful physical examination. As Dr. Hutchinson 
has stated : "We breed two-thirds of our consumption right here in this city, as 
the class of people that come here from the other side of the Atlantic are as a5 
whole a healthy and superior class." In self protection, therefore, the city which 
must pay the cost of caring for the families of wage earners who succumb to con- 
sumption has the right to protect itself and require its citizens to accept the city's 
protection against these conditions. 

Third. — It is evident that the present facilities and expenditures of the city for 
caring for victims of consumption are inadequate, since there are long waiting lists 
in the various institutions treating tuberculous patients. The poverty of the citi- 
zens moreover prevents their securing proper food and refraining from work until 
they are physically able to go back to their ordinary employment. The Committee 
therefore recommends that the city make adequate provision to care for the victims 
of consumption away from their homes. They feel the city should also provide out- 
side of congested districts for the indigent families of these patients, especially when 
they are deprived of the earnings of the wage earner of the family. The Committee 
feel strongly that this is not a charity in any sense of the word, but only the debt 
which the city owes to these families. 

Fourth.— The Committee have had considerable evidence presented to them of 
the danger from a health point of view of manufacturing in tenements. At present 
a license is given for manufacturing in an entire tenement and not for a single apart- 
ment, and the result has been that tenement manufacture is carried on in apartments 
or tenements in which there are patients sick with scarlet fever, consumption, 
diphtheria and measles. It is hardly necessary to state that this is a serious menace, 
not only to the city itself, but to the other communities to which the goods manu- 
facured in these tenements are shipped. They therefore recommend that manufac- 
turing in tenement houses be prohibited if it be constitutional, and in any event that 
it be much more carefully regulated than at present and that manufacturers be held 
responsible for the place to which their work is sent and in no case should work be 
sent to any tenement in which there are children, for two reasons, presented in the 
evidence given before the Committee. 

First. — Families in which there is no contagious disease often give part of the 
clothing they have received to families one of whose members is sick in the apart- 
ment with a contagious disease. 

Second. — The cruelty to children of permitting them to work at home. It is not 
uncommon for young children, as young as four years of age, to work several hours 
pulling out bastings and doing other unskilled but confining work, which is most 
injurious when carried on for a number of hours. Manufacture of flowers is very 
common, too, and your Committee have seen young children working at night in 
this employment. 

Fifth. — The Committee recommends that provision should be made not only for 
the physical and medical examination of all school children, but as well for the 
treatment of all school children, in public and religious schools, if their parents are 
unable to afford this themselves. It will be noted, however, from the report of the 
Division of Child Hygiene, Department of Health, that for the school year from 
September, 1908, to June, 1909, that 242,048 children out of 323,344 examined were 
found to need treatment, 183,862 on account of defective teeth, 38,329 on account of 
defective vision, 73,058 on account of defective nasal breathing, and 86,688 on ac- 
count of hypertrophied tonsils. Of the total number, 203,438 received treatment, or 
84.06 per cent, of the 432,138 children found during the year 1909 to 1910 to have 
non-contagious physical defects 11 per cent, were reported as treated. The Bureau 
of Municipal Research in commenting upon the work of the Division of Child 
Hygiene stated: "Of every 100 school children examined by medical inspectors of this 
division, approximately 75 per cent, were recommended to secure medical treatment. 
Of the 75 in every 100 found defective, about 11 pr cent, or 53 children, are re-^ 
ported by this division as treated. Of the ll per cent., it is fair to question from the 
records of the department whether more than 25 per cent., or 13 children, have re- 
ceived treatment which is recognized by the department itself as effective. 

"From records of the department it may in fairness be questioned whether 
more than 25 per cent, of the children reported as treated received treatment that by 
the standards of the department can be considered effective. 

"In view of the great efforts of the department to virge treatments, it is there- 
fore very probable that a greater number of effective treatments cannot be secured 
because of limitations of clinics and the economic inability of parents to pay doctors' 
fees. 

"The question presented is whether the department shall make a constantly in- 



168 

creasing number of physical examinations in which a very small percentage of those 
examined receive effective treatment, or w^hether it is better for the city to make 
fewer examinations and secure effective treatment in a large percentage of cases ex- 
amined." 

The Committee feel that it is wrong to take the groimd that because the parents 
of children are too poor to give them the treatment which a medical examination 
shows that they need, that therefore the city should refrain from having them ex- 
amined. The revelations as to the physical conditions of children are most alarming 
and therefore the Committee recommend most erriphatically that adequate appropria- 
tion be made to the Department of Health as above suggested so that every child in 
the School may have a careful medical examination as frequently as the Department 
of Health, which has in charge this work, deems necessary, and that adequate ap- 
propriation should be made for the treatment of children whose parents are unable 
to give them the proper care and treatment. Whenever the parents are able to give 
them such care they should, of course, be required to do so and should be punished 
for cruelty and neglect of children in case they fail to make such provisions for 
their need as is within their financial ability. On the other hand, if the city fails 
to provide the needed treatment for the children whose parents are unable to secure 
this for them, then it is guilty of as gross cruelty and neglect of the children as the 
parents themselves. 

The Committee feel that in emphasizing the responsibility of the city for careful 
and adequate treatment of the children they are merely emphasizing the fundamental 
duty of the city to protect itself, since the waste of the children of the city is most 
alarming. 

Sixth. — Impure milk causes many thousands of preventable deaths among in- 
fants, and much expensive sickness, which is a heavy cost upon the poorly paid wage 
earners of the city. The Committee recommend that adequate appropriation be made 
for the inspection of milk and for securing a supply of cheap and good milk for the 
city. This certified milk would cost only 15 cents per quart, which would mean a 
cost of approximately $1.00 per week for each child. Your Committee also recom- 
mend that the city itself establish stations for pasteurizing milk which could be made 
safe and sold at 9 cents per quart. 

Ninth. — The Committee recommends that more playgrounds should be pro- 
vided to counteract the physical results of room overcrowding and congestion of 
population. As suggested by Mr. Frederick L. Hoffman, the noted statistician, these 
playgrounds should be provided chiefly in the form of grass plots and serve as 
playgrounds for the children. 

Tenth. — The Committee recommend that the city restrict the development of 
outlying sections of the boroughs where land is now very cheap so that there will 
not be a density of over 100 to the acre and that the development be restricted to one 
and two-family houses. Mr. Hoffman made the following statement before the Com- 
mittee : "I am willing to go so far as to say that it is not only necessary, but the duty 
of every large American city like New York absolutely to central factory and build- 
ing operations within a radius of say fifteen miles of its centre as a reasonable 
transportation distance, and the city failing to discharge this duty is guilty of a 
grave negligence toward the most desirable class of its citizens." 

The housing problem is primarily a health problem and the mere fact that in- 
sanitary conditions and overcrowded tenements and rooms have been excused in 
Manhattan and in parts of the Bronx, Brooktyn, and even Queens because of high 
land values is no reason whatsoever why these conditions should be permitted to 
exist or to be duplicated in other boroughs. 

The precedents of foreign countries, notably Germany, Austria, _ France, Italy 
and England are adequate for the establishment of zones and districts outside of 
Manhattan in which the buildings should be restricted to the height of two or three 
stories for dwellings, which should not be permitted to occupy more than SO per 
cent, or 60 per cent, of the lot area. Most large German cities have already estab- 
lished these districts and although permitting five-story tenements in the centre of 
the city, restrict the height of buildings in outlying districts to two and three 
stories, and, in some cases, limit the proportion of the lot area that may be covered 
to 40 per cent. England^ by its Town Planning Act, passed last year, has given the 
local authorities of each city the right to restrict the number of cottages per acre 
to from 10 or 12 or 20 per acre and a maximum density of 100 to the area. This 
is perfectly feasible in certain sections of New York City to-day, and it is the opin- 
ion of the Committee that on the basis of health alone this restriction should be 
imposed upon the outlying districts of the city. 

All the recommendations of the Committee are based upon the health require- 
ments and the Committee in submitting these recommendations respectfully ask 



169 



.hat .he Com™..ee on Legislation be ins.™c,ed.op.ep^^^^ legislation embodying 
these recommendations and providmg for their entorcemem. 

Statements Presented to the Committee on Health. 

^' ance Company. ^ 

Q. What is the relation between -om overcrowding and ^ rate^s^.^^ ^^ 

Sr. Hoffman: On that pomt I .^°^'d|ay*Sf,t,^^Ste Increasing density of 

doubt but that overcrowdmg results ma )'^^^l^j\XYanmcrt^^^ in the death rate. 

the population is, under normal ^"ditions followed by ^nince^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ 

The exception to this rule is met with m ^he/^^'^.^ig experienced lower than the 
Peabody dwellings, of London, ,^J^^'^%^f^*!' "JronouS the higher mortality 
average' The effect of increased de^sY'srnost pronounced n ^^^^.^^^^^^.^^^^ .^ 

of children under 5 years. I }}^^X\Sf\^^L?JzhWhlen lower than the corre- 
^p^din'^tShV^i i^"toV^Son^:tdTis\^:w=^^^^ "s.7 per thousand, while the 
'"^hairln 'cantor: Are the people of these tenements of a higher social grade 

;itrot^ivturbr;fe^^^^^^^ 

outside of London where "?odel dwelling^ have been^^^^^^^^ ^ ^ 

rate for a period of 8 years has been "^^yy-^.^^^^^^^ Sunlight, where the 

Wales it was 16.7 to the thousand The birth r^tcto^^ ^^^ best pos- 

conditions of health, as to air, sunlight ^pace, etc a^euq ^^^ ^^ ^^^ 
sible for any working class, has been 42.6 ^o tlie tnousana, ag 

sand for England and Wales ; that is osaJ^ whik they ha^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^_^^ 

had a lower death rate, ^^ich is practically nejer met ^^^ employees 

conditions as those at Port Sunlight The condmons ip ^ ^ ' ^»^^.^^.^^ ^^^ ^^^.^ 

of the Krupp Corporation, have been ^^.H^jl/^^/rj^f'^.ts and I spent some time there 

population, but I have personally ^"X^stigated the ^act ana p ^^^^^. ^uild- 

last year, and there can be no ^^f t^^^/c:"^* flVand by the Krupp Corporation, and 
ing, such as has been earned on at P°^t Sunlight and t^y ^^e W J^^ ^ ^^^^^ 

at certain other places on ^he Continent is oHow^d by exce ^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ 
say that what has been done at Essen ^stabiisnes tne p y ^^^^^ ^^_ 

This principle of ^^^^<'^^^^ ^^'l^lf'^^vh^^^^^ ^°^''' 'T' 

cept under the proper co-ordjnation of Pf f "^^„^Xos had at Liverpool. This firm 

bined with business .oPPftunities,jch as Lever B^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^f 

combined opportunities for work ^^^h opportunities tor t ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ 

;riea^"^r^fe%Tp^^^^^^^^^^^^ lo^ss SfL^^of L most desirable class of 

^^^^^SNou would say that with healthy 1-^"^ -tarra^%^' '" ""'" ^""^ "' 
-°^^ ^°^^nlSs^r df im^;^\l?oU"lc^^^^^^^ believe you will ever 

'""''T Alde^an^'SSat: What do you think the -use of this^ ^^^^.^^ 

X. Those who know most ^bout the birh rate f^^^^^l If^'H ^^,, consider 

In the birth rate is. due, almost entirely, to art^cial res nction .^^ ^^^^._ 

that artificial restriction may be ^" .^^^^^^^i^X r^' go together as cause and ef- 
tions of life, and that in?^o'"abty and low vitality may .o g ^ ^.^^^ 

feet. H we do not furmsh enough ™°f ^^°". *^„',Pf^^^^ anticipation as 

I think the effect on the mmd must be profound ^" jj^|;"^;i f^, ^^.i^h the room 
to what the future conditions will be if fej^e is a m^.er a y ^^^.^^.^^ ^^ ^^^^.^ 
space under normal conditions o city If e is nsu^hc^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ 

prove conclusively that the I^o^tality of those Imngmo^ .^ ^^^^^ ^^ 

than in the case of those who had sufficient hvm^^^ epiSc diseases were decidedly 
L^;e=on\'',Sortfel?»S^ 

wertaS ^% ISA'iS'ii ^potuSn'Titn^^if clIaThouses, against 420 fo, 
those living m dirty houses. ^wpllino-s or basements has invariably 

been^.tnTSfe.lsr "*« ^'V' jSS^?r^f w^ f tolfie^ t™ 
LTrtU°e^f.rnrinTbV"h.?t^XrH1ofw- t^^^^^^^ of what wete the 



170 

sanitary conditions of this city 40 years ago, you would not think it possible, any 
more than will the people fifty years hence accept as a standard the housing condi- 
tions of the city to-day. We consider it inhuman to-day that even the very poor 
should live in cellar dwellings underground, without light, good air and dryness, 
which is so essential for good health, yet little was thought of this sixty or seventy 
years ago. Just so will the standards of life, housing and working conditions in the 
future differ from the conditions accepted as tolerable and conducive to longevity 
at the present day. 

The most conclusive modern data concerning the relation of morbidity and mor- 
tality to overcrowding are the statistics of Glasgow for the year ending June 30, 
1908. There was an epidemic of measles that year and the morbidity of children 
under one in the families living in one room apartments was 125 per 1,000, against 
102 for those living in two room apartments, 27.5 in three room apartments, and 11.1 
in four room apartments and upwards. At age 2 the corresponding rates were 232 
for one room apartments, 197 for two room apartments, 54 for three room apart- 
ments, and 30 for four room apartments. Similar results were observed at older 
ages. 

In Glasgow they have been giving a great deal of attention to this question of 
housing and the effect on tuberculosis has been observed by Dr. J. B. Russell and 
Dr. Fife. Dr. Russell has very well said in regard to this question : 

"A copious supply of pure air and distribution of direct and diffused sunlight 
within and without the dwelling are not only wholesome to man, but are directly 
fatal to the bacilli distributed outside of the animal body. Sunlight is the only disin- 
fectant which sustains the man while it kills the microbe. Therefore, whatever with- 
draws from the air we breathe impurity of smoke, or dust, or foul exhalation, and 
from the sky above us that canopy of smoke which reduces our sunshine to twi- 
light, everything which promotes free motion of air without and within the house, 
every by-law which regulates the width of the street, the height of the houses, the 
arrangement of the buildings, so as to offer no obstruction to the winds, and to secure 
as much light and as little shadow in the hours of daylight as possible, which pro- 
motes the access of the sun's rays to dwellings, and helps to make the sky visible 
from the floor of all inhabited rooms, which widens and brightens lobbies and stair- 
cases in tenements, which prevents dampness of foundations and walls, every regu- 
lation which checks overcrowding both in the house and work place, which protects 
the artificer from irritation dust and fumes and secures to workers of every degree 
and kind natural light and pure air in the place of their employment, are all precau- 
tions against tuberculosis." 

It is obvious, of course, that fresh air is essential, that it must be had in order 
to decrease the death rate, that overcrowding does increase it, and unless we do. 
have more light, air, sunlight, etc., we shall not stamp out tuberculosis, but rather 
increase it and with it the general death rate. I think, therefore, I have fully an- 
swered your last question in the affirmative. 

Q. What is the minimum cubic air space that should be provided? 

A. I do not feel that I possess sufficient information on that point. Of course, 
I know that it is generally considered that 3,000 cubic feet per hour is required, but 
it is quite probable that even as small a proportion as 1,000 cubic feet will be suf^- 
cient to maintain a reasonable state of health. From what I know about it, there 
is a considerable variety of information on this subject, and it is largely a question 
of the air supply, as well as the quantity and the conditions under which life is lived. 
If in a state of muscular inactivity, I should consider the required amount less, and 
in a state of muscular activity probably more, but to answer your question intelli- 
gently I do not posses the necessary scientific information. 

Q. What changes in the present tenement house law and building law relating 
to hygienic and sanitary construction would you suggest? 

A. My answer to that is practicallj' the same as to the last question. That is a 
problem for architects and experts on housing conditions, model tenement construc- 
tion, room accommodations, etc., and not for one untrained in that line of work. 
I would like to say this much, however, that the mortality in rear tenements, or what 
they call in England back-to-back houses, is almost invariably excessive. In my in- 
vestigation of the sanitary conditions of the Trinity Corporation tenements, prac- 
tically all the elements of the present problem were brought to my attention, and it 
was made very clear to me that conclusions should only be arrived at after a careful 
inquiry into the facts. I had a census made of the Trinity population and I had 
obtained the official death rate from the New York Board of Health for five years, 
and I found by an exact comparison that the Trinity death rate was actually lower 
by several points than the rate of the sanitary district in which the tenements were 
located. It is easy to make suggestions on this question, but they are often extremely 



171 

■difficult to carry into effect, without the expenditure of much money, which would 
materially increase the rent item. 

Q. To what extent do you attribute the prevalence of tuberculosis in New York 
City to the housing conditions? 

A. There can be no question of doubt but that tuberculosis in New York City 
is due, to a considerable extent, in more or less exact proportion to overcrowding, 
want of proper ventilation, want of direct sunlight, exposure and infected interior 
rooms. While it is held that infection disappears from dwellings after about six 
months, this, I take it, presupposes exposure to the direct rays of the sun. _ In any 
event, the relation of overcrowding to tuberculosis has been precisely established by 
Sir Shirley Murphy, who has brought out the fact that in London^ the death rate 
from phthisis steadily increased with the proportion of the population living more 
than two in a room in tenements comprising less than five rooms. In districts in 
which this proportion was under 10 per cent, the tuberculosis death rate per 10,000 
of population was 11.1, in districts in which the proportion was from 20 to 25 per 
cent, the death rate was 17.7, and in districts in which the proportion was over 35 
per cent., the rate was 25.9. Upon this point it has been said by Sir Shirley Murphy 
in his annual report upon the health of London for 1898, that "There is obviously a' 
relation between the amount of overcrowding and the phthisis death rate. The fig- 
ures do not, however, suffice to show whether the overcrowding caused phthisis, or 
whether the disease, by adding to family expenditure, or by diminishing the wage- 
earning power, left less money available for rent, and this brought about the over- 
crowding, or whether, again, overcrowding is associated with some other condition, 
or conditions, favorable to disease. In all probability, all these circumstances have 
tended to produce results." Of course, no figures of this kind must be taken as en- 
tirely conclusive concerning one single cause responsible for a particular condition, 
I)ut, to say the least, the foregoing percentages are extremely suggestive. 

If I quote from foreign documents, it is because we have no corresponding data 
for this country at the present time. We have no police control over the movements 
•of our population, such as they have in many foreign countries, and by means of 
which we could secure the required information. 

Q. What, in your judgment, would it cost to cure those now sick with tubercu- 
losis in the city, and to make them able to continue their work without danger to 
themselves and others? 

A. In my opinion, it would be impossible to even approximately estimate the 
financial cost of curing those now sick with tuberculosis in the City of New York 
and to make them able to continue their work without danger to themselves and 
others. Obviously, this end can only be obtained by institutional isolation of all cases, 
even the slightly affected, or by providing ideal home conditions, includiiig a thor- 
oughly effective method of nursing, diet, etc., the cost of which is practically pro- 
hibitive. All institutional experience with the cure of consumption which has been 
Iiad in this country or abroad proves that even in the case of incipient patients the 
stay in the sanatorium should not be less than three months, and, if possible, as long 
on the average as six months. At a minimum cost of $1.00 a day, that would mean 
an expense of about $200, to say nothing of the expense necessary to establish the 
required institutional conditions. It has been proven, however, that patients who 
liad been treated 90 days and had been, apparently, cured, after six months' return 
to the old mode of life and surroundings relapsed to their former condition and 
returned for further treatment to the institutions. It seems to me that patients should, 
if possible, be treated for nine months, or even a year, but I am not prepared, how- 
ever, to suggest any feasible plan to carry out such a suggestion. I do not believe 
that anyone could estimate, even approximately, what it would cost, but, in_ any 
event, the sum would be enormous. I may say that at Loomisthey have established 
a system of keeping trace of their patients and they have gone into the entire history 
of the treatment of former patients, so that in a year or two there will be results to 
prove on the one hand the actual cost of institutional treatment and on the other 
the economic results achieved. 

Q. Do you consider it safe for a person who has had consumption to live in 
the ordinary interior rooms of tenements? 

A. I am decidedly of the opinion that it is not safe for a person who has had 
consumption to live in the ordinary interior rooms of tenements, nor, for that mat- 
ter, do I consider it entirely safe for a heathy person to do so. I conceive the term 
"interior rooms" to mean rooms without any direct sunlight exposure. 

Q. Do you think it possible by fumigation, or other treatment, even re-papering, 
whitewashing and painting, to kill the bacilli of tuberculosis in dark or interior 
rooms, to which direct sunshine never penetrates? 



• 172 

A. I do not think it absolutely safe and entirely possible, by fumigation, or other 
methods, even re-papering, whitewashing and painting, to kill the bacilli of tubercu- 
losis in dark or interior rooms into which the direct sunlight never penetrates, except 
at a very considerable expense, which would be totally disproportionate to the rent- 
ing value of the rooms. Even if this is conceded to be theoretically possible, it would 
not seem to be actually feasible. In my opinion, it would be decidedly dangerous for 
a person predisposed to consumption, or suffering from consumption in the incipient 
stage of the disease, to live in interior rooms to which direct sunlight never pene- 
trates. 

I am inclined to think that the city would be justified and perhaps in duty bound 
to declare such rooms entirely unfit for human occupancy for sleeping purposes, but 
I am not prepared to say that such rooms cannot be utilized for a large variety of 
business purposes, but, in any event, this would be a question for individual con- 
sideration of the actual facts, which necessarily would vary in many cases. 

Q. From the standpoint of conserving the health of the citizens, do you think 
night inspection of tenements or apartments renting for less than $15.00 to $18.00 
per month to prevent overcrowding justifiable? 

A. No, I do not think it would be advisable to institute a system of night in- 
spection of any tenements or apartments renting for less than $14.00 to $18.00 a 
month, to prevent overcrowding. I believe that it would be proper for the police, 
upon trustworthy information, to ascertain the facts of overcrowding in individual 
instances, even by night inspection, but such inspection would not, perhaps, be neces- 
sary if a rule were adopted whereby permission to have lodgers would have to be 
granted by the Board of Health, within a reasonable limit of the room space to be 
occupied. I believe that the home is the private domain of every man and it should 
not be subjected to such an inspection, unless for the specific reasons that might be 
given to the police, and then -an investigation should be made, but a general system 
of night inspection, such as has been suggested, would be a great hardship on many 
occupants of these cheap apartments, for which there would be no justification at 
all. 

Q. To what extent to you attribute the fact that New York's death rate is higher 
than that of London, Berlin and several American cities, to the housing condi- 
tions? 

A. T am not prepared to admit that the corrected death rate of New York City 
at the present time is really higher than the corresponding death rates of London and 
Berlin. The crude death rate is at best of doubtful validity in international com- 
parison, for the rate is governed by the age, sex, race, nativity, and occupation dis- 
tribution of the population, which, of course, is fundamentally different in the case 
of New York, compared with London and Berlin. We know it to be a fact that 
certain races and nativities have a decidedly higher death rate than others, and, other 
things equal, the death rate of the foreign born is much higher than the death rate 
of the native born. We know that this excess is often due to housing conditions, 
but unsanitary housing, in all cases, tends to increase the excess in the death rate par- 
ticularly in the case of young children and the aged. For illustration, according to 
the census of 1900, the death rate of native born Americans in the registration area 
of the United States per 1,000, ages 15 and over, were as follows, compared with 
those of Irish, German, Italian and Scandinavian parentage, respectively : 



Parentage. 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-64 65 and over. 

United States 5.0 6.4 7.5 14.6 65.9 

•Ireland 7.5 12.2 15.0 30.6 96.9 

Germany 4.8 7.4 9.6 20.3 81.8 

Italy 6.6 7A 9.2 17.2 66.1 

Scandinavia 5.7 7.4 9.0 16.9 67.3 

In 1909 the death rate of New York City, as determined by the Registrar-General 
of London, and not as by the New York Board of Health, was given, as 16.2 to the 
thousand, whereas for London it was 14.0, but if you compare the death rate of 
1885 to that of 1901 to 1905, the London death rate decreased 23 per cent, and New 
York City 31 per cent., so that we are making, apparently at least, a considerable 
progress, regardless of our large foreign and negro population. Now, for illustra- 
tion, we might have a community where the death rate would be 12.0 to the thou- 
sand, which would be high, if in that community the majority were young men of 
an age of 19 to 20 years, such as at a military school, for instance, and then we might 
have a death rate of SO to the thousand, which would be low if the population con- 



173 

sisted chiefly of old people, as, for illustration, at a veteran soldiers' home, or home 
for the aged. 

Q. Would you make any comparison of the death rate of negroes here and 
those in small rural districts, or Jews and Slavs, etc.? 

A. With reference to the Jews of New York City, Dr. Billings made a census 
of certain districts and found that, in spite of the unhealthy surroundings, the Jews 
at that time had the lowest death rate in New York City, while in other districts 
where we might have expected a lower death rate, as, for instance, among the Irish, 
he found it a great deal higher than among the Jews. In the case of Italian children, 
it has been proved beyond a doubt that those of the second generation are consti- 
tutionally ill-adapted to this climate. Dr. Irving Snow, of Buffalo, is an authority 
on this question and he has gone into it as far as it seems necessary to prove that 
the second generation suffer seriously from bronchial troubles, etc. He holds that 
the climate of New York is so different from that of Sicily and Naples that there 
is a great deal of suffering among the Italian children on this acount, and the ma- 
jority of them suffer from bronchial troubles, and respiratory diseases generally. Of 
course, we all know that the sanitary conditions of New York City can be improved, 
and with such improvements as could be made, and with safety devices in our fac- 
tories, proper housing and ventilation, and effective methods of dust removal, there 
is really no calculable rational limit to the average attainable age. A much larger 
number and proportion ought to live to old age, even to a hundred years, and more, 
and the tendency seems to be that way, for the death rate of New York City appears 
to be declining at a greater rate of decrease than the death rate of large European 
cities. 

Q. What measures, to counteract the physical results of room overcrowding 
and congestion of population, would you suggest? 

A. I am decidedly of the opinion that among the most important measures to 
counteract the physical results of room overcrowding and congestion of population 
are, first, more open spaces, chiefly in the form of grass plots, to serve as play- 
grounds for children, provided with some simple gymnastic apparatus, benches, etc., 
not entailing any considerable expense for care-taking, if any, upon the city. I also 
am of the opinion that playgrounds should be open on Sunday, with easy accessibility 
to the use of all the gymnastic apparatus provided, and not only on week-days, as is 
the present rule. It seems to me that the roofs of a large number of our buildings 
could be utilized to much better advantage than they are at the present time, and 
many such buildings might be connected by overhead passageways, or bridges, to 
increase the possibilities for outdoor exercise, to be closed, of course, at night, to 
prevent abuse. 

There is urgent need of im.proved methods of artificial ventilation, particularly 
in public buildings, including schools, and of self-registering apparatus, to indicate 
the maximum and minimum temperatures in schools, factories, stores, offices, etc., 
so as to call attention to departures from normal conditions favorable to health and 
longevity, and any teacher in a school who permitted the temperature of a room to 
deviate from the normal should be held accountable by the Board of Health. Much 
can also be done to reduce the smoke, the noise, and the dust nuisances, and a more 
careful and qualified medical examination of children at work and in school is 
urgently needed. The Massachusetts system of medical factory inspection of chil- 
dren has, in this respect, decided advantages. 

Further than this, I am not prepared to make definite suggestion since the whole 
question of improved housing is one for architects and other experts on the sub- 
ject. It has occurred to me, however, chiefly on the basis of European investigations, 
that we have not realized a definite working theory of controlling the methods of 
house-building and particularly the development of the suburban sections of our 
large cities. It is self-evident that the central portions of our principal cities are 
becoming more and more economic and that the residence portion should, therefore, 
lie outside of a given zone. The ideal that has been achieved at Port Sunlight and 
similar places in England, and by the Krupp Corporation, at Essen, suggests at least 
the direction in which the housing problem in America may ultimately find its best 
solution. In any event, I am absolutely satisfied that property considerations and so- 
called rights and privileges of landlords and tenants are secondary to the conservation 
of the health and life of all the people who make up a community, and that since they 
are more or less helpless in controlling the deleterious effect of an unfavorable en- 
vironment, they may rightfully insist upon adequate protection in this respect on the 
part of the municipality. 

Q. Are you willing to state what you would suggest as the ordinary occupancy 
of rooms, 1^ or 2 people to a room? 



174 

A. For practical purposes we who live in our own homes and have children would. 
not put more than three people in a room, if possible to avoid it, but I should think 
that under certain conditions and circumstances, even four people may live in a 
good sized room, with a proper regard to the decencies of life. 

Q. You do, of course, where land values permit, think it advisable and beneficial, 
that families should, where possible, Hve in two-family houses, where they have more 
room. 

A. Unquestionably. I am willing to go so far as to say that it is not only neces- 
sary, but the duty of every large American city like New York, absolutely to control 
factory and building operations within a radius of, say, fifteen miles of its centre, as a. 
reasonable transportation distance, and the city failing to discharge this duty is guilty 
of serious neglect towards the most desirable class of its citizens. 

Q. Are there any sections here in New York City where the insurance companies 
refuse to take risks ? 

A. The answer is that there are no such sections, but some of the companies re- 
quire that the business operations in large cities shall be carried on with a due regard 
to the specific death rate in particular sections, and that the actual conditions, moral 
and otherwise, as they are known to the managing officials, shall be considered, and 
they do not permit the insuring of persons who fail to conform to a reasonable stand- 
ard as to what constitutes an insurable risk, and if they find that "the agents" write 
business in houses that are not fit for human habitation they take cognizance of the fact 
and see that it does not occur again. There have been some such cases, but the ques- 
tion is asked in the application blanks as to whether the applicant lives in a front or 
rear tenement, and when the report is unfavorable as to the environments, the case is 
declined. 

You will find some of the best kind of people living in poor sections sometimes, 
and I found this to be the case in the Trinity Corporation tenements, where a good 
class of tenants had been living in rather deteriorated tenements for forty and fifty 
years. It was their home; they would not move out, and when it was considered at one 
time desirable to tear down some of these tenements these same people requested that 
it should not be done during their lifetime — as a matter of sentiment, no doubt, but 
sentiment rules the world. It is just the same in every city; for some reason or other, 
you will find desirable people living in poor districts, and the responsibiUty for doing 
so should not rest on these people, but on the community that permits the worst class 
of people to pollute and spoil a neighborhood. 

We lay much of the blame of the conditions in New York on the foreign element 
we have here, but the city could be made beautiful and a more healthy place to live ir 
the people, as a whole, and as a matter of duty and pride, took the matter more in hand. 
Just consider how they do these things in Dusseldorf and Frankfort, in Germany. 
Those two cities are beautiful and they have actually been rebuilt in the past fifty 
years. They, too, have a foreign element in Germany, but the cities are developed in 
conformity to a plan whereby the best architects, the best brains of the country, are 
used for the betterment of housing and other conditions. Our chief trouble is that 
our reform movements are usually suggested by a group of men who want to do some- 
thing, but really do not know how, and who finally suggest a plan or measure repre- 
senting a compromise, or plan not practical or feasible. If these same people would" 
come forward with a well-thought-out plan, similar to those which underlie the devel- 
opment of German cities, no one could raise serious objections, for the suggested 
measure or plan would rest upon the needs of the people and conform to the best 
judgment of qualified and impartial minds. The time has certainly come for New- 
York to adopt a definite plan of city development, in place of the present apathy, chaos 
and hopeless, aimless drift. 

B — Statement by Mr. Wilbur C. Phillips, Secretary of the Nezv York Milk Committee. 

There is a vital relation between congestion and infant mortality. There are about 
125,000 babies born in New York annually, and about 16,000 — one in every eight — die. 

The Milk Committee made a study, two years ago, of infant mortality in three- 
sections of the city, taking the same number of people in each section — in the wealthy 
section, 28 blocks on the upper West Side ; in 5 blocks near Lenox ave., and in three 
tenement blocks in the lower East Side — during the two hottest weeks in the year. 

In the 28 upper West Side blocks there were no deaths, and in the 5 middle city 
blocks no deaths of infants, but in the lower East Side tenements, 16 deaths of 
infants, and if the rate had continued it would have wiped out all the infants. In 
case of infants fed at the breast, the death rate is much lower than for those arti- 
ficially fed. A large number of deaths of infants occur in congested districts of 
the city. 

In 357 cases of mothers in care of the Milk Committee eight-tenths of one per- 



175 

cent paid less than $5 per month for rent; 60 5-10 per cent paid from $5 to $15; 
26 9-10 per cent over $15 per month. . r . j i ^^ 

Mortality rate in the city is 130 per 1,000 among mfants under one year of age. 

In 413 cases under care of the Milk Committee 4.8 per cent live_ m one room.; 
12 6 per cent in two rooms ; 47.5 per cent in three rooms ; 26.4 per cent m four rooms ; 
6.3 per cent in five rooms ; 2.4 per cent in six rooms or over. . 

The first experiment in supplying instruction to mothers in hygiene was made 
by the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor; then at last the Board 
of Health took up the matter. , vu ..u j- ^ • 

It is better to have nurses who educate the mothers connected with the distri- 
bution of milk. One hundred and forty-one nurses, paid by the Board of Health, 
were employed from June to September for this purpose m 1910 Depot nurses 
should keep office hours one to two hours a day, and the rest of the time visit 
sick babies and have meetings with the mothers. To distribute milk on a small 
scale is very expensive. Each distributing center should be run to its full capacity 

Of 1,600,000 quarts of fluid milk, which is brought to New York City daily, 
only about 60,000 is in bottles. 

There are 40,000 to 45,000 farms from which milk is sent for New York City 
to be inspected, and the present force of the Board of Health is inadequate for this 

^ ^ Milk brought to a pasteurizing plant should have a certain standard of purity. 
Milk must be furnished to the poor at a reasonable cost. ,;r-„ „ j u j: 

Milk could be certified and marked "Baby's Milk,' or Safe Milk, and sold for 
15 cents while pasteurized milk would be safe if sold at 9 cents per quart. 

About 500000 or 600,000 quarts per day would be sufficient for all children under 
5 years of age in the city, as children use, ordinarily, one quart per day, or one and 
one-quarter quarts. 

C— Statement by Dr. Wni. H. Parks, of the Department of Health. 

Question: What is the relation between room overcrowding and mortality rates. 

Dr. Parks? , , , , a- 

Answer: I can state, from my own knowledge, that the more overcrowding 
you have the more sickness and deaths there will be. As to the actual amount of such 
increase I have no statistics and so cannot state definitely. It is the opinion of all 
who have studied this question that we have increased sickness m overcrowded 
rooms and increased mortality among those sick. Not only more sick, but of those 
that are sick more deaths. This is especially true of communicable diseases. 

Q. What diseases would you include in that term? 

A. Tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, cerebro-spinal meningitis, 
etc., i. e., especially the diseases in which the contagion is spread by the mouth and 
nasal secretions. The closer people five together the easier it is to spread infection 
one from the other. This may be by direct contact, by eating utensils, by flies and 
other sources. Overcrowding means less fresh air for individuals and, therefore, we 
now know less chance for recovery. 

Q. Have you any recommendations as to the number of occupants that should 
be permitted in a room? . 

A. I do not feel that I have sufficient knowledge to make a recommendation. 
The definite study of this matter has not come in my line. If possible, not more 
than two persons should sleep in the ordinary small city room. 

Q. What is the cubic air sp^ace you would recommend ? 

A. I should recommend that persons have, as near as possible, 1,000 cubic feet 
of air space if their means will permit them to have this amount. Those that are sick 
need more air than those that are well, so that those that are sick should have all 
the air that can possibly be given them. 

Q. Alderman Dujat — Would you suggest that a man in the first stages of con- 
sumption should be placed in a home where that kind of people are taken care of? 

A. I think, so far as the health of others is concerned, it is very important 
to remove those that are even in the early stages of consumption. Their condi- 
tion may make this inadvisable or impossible. I might state that a study of tubercu- 
losis in young children shovys that nearly one-half of infected children have contracted 
it from having been cared for by a tuberculous nurse or parent. 

Q. Is it not true that the lighting of working rooms in factories is equally 
important in maintaining healthy conditions? 

A. Yes, I think it is equally true, depending, of course, on the hours spent in 
such a place. Should a person have to spend 14 hours in such a place, poorly Hghted, 
etc., it would tend to increase rather than exterminate tuberculosis. We all . know 



176 

that a person can remain a short time in a theatre where overcrowding is permitted 
without, as a rule, appreciable bad results. 

Q. What would it cost to cure those curable cases now classed as consumption? 
A. The best of my knowledge and belief is that three-quarters of those now 
known to have consumption will die without regard to what can be done for them, 
as it is only in the early stages that recovery is possible for a large percentage ; so that 
there are some 20,000 in New York City that must die from the progress of the disease 
they now have. 

Q. Are those mostly adults? 

A. Yes, probably 90 per cent are adults. Most fatal cases of tuberculosis 
occur either in the first year of life or after reaching adult size. 

Q. What can be done with the housing proposition to handle this problem? 
Also as a preventitive when the family is a specimen for charity, when the bread- 
winner is sick? 

A. The most important thing is to supply a place where good air and good light 
can be got and away from the crowded city. Next to that give them rooms with 
good air and good light in the city and sufficient suitable food if they cannot afford 
it themselves. Every case removed from the city and made comfortable itself 
will remove one center of infection. At the present time the number of tuberculous 
cases in the city remains the same ; that is, we have as many cases each year as the 
year before. This means, however, less percentage, because the city is rapidly in- 
creasing its population. 

Q. You anticipate about the same number of deaths annually, 10,000, under 
our present method of treatment? 

A. Yes, unless we can go ahead and provide a place outside of the city. It will 
cost about $500 to establish each bed, and I imagine it would cost $1 per day for care 
and maintenance for each person. • Of course this low cost is mentioned to cover a 
large number. 

Q. If you removed a person with tuberculosis from a dark room and placed a 
newly arrived immigrant in same, do you think it should be repapered, painted, or 
something of that sort done to it? 

A. It should be cleaned and disinfected and then would be safe so far as germs 
are concerned. If the immigrant contracted tuberculosis elsewhere, he would be 
more likely to succumb to it because the room was dark and would be more likely to 
infect others in it. 

Q. How do you explain that we have so many new cases of consumption in these 
dark rooms? 

A. My opinion is that our knowledge concerning the development of tuberculosis 
in ordinary houses and dark rooms is extremely limited, because this class of people 
move so frequently from place to place that it is difficult to trace the origin of the 
disease. When secondary cases occur among members of a family living together with 
a tuberculous person these are due rather to personal infection than to the infection 
in the room itself. 

Q. Do you consider it safe for a person who has had consumption to live in ordi- 
nary interior rooms of tenements? 

A. Anyone that has had consumption should always live in the best possible con- 
ditions as to light and air space. It is even dangerous for a tuberculous person who 
has recovered after leaving the city to return to it and go back into office work or any 
of the ordinary city_ occupations. The fact that a person has had consumption proves 
that he was susceptible and he will usually remain susceptible. 

D — Statement by Dr. Woods Hutchinson. 

Chairman Dujat put the following questions to Dr. Hutchinson : 

Q. What is the relation between room overcrowding and mortality rates? 

A. Broadly speaking, the mortality rate in any city or in any ward varies directly 
with the density of population, the higher the density of population the higher the 
mortality. Some exceptions, of course, but, in the main, that is one of the axioms of 
sanitation that the death rate is in proportion to the density of the population. It is 
also an accepted fact that the size and weight of children at a given age are in direct 
relation to the number in a room, the fewer in a room, the taller and healthier they are. 

Q. What is the minimum cubic air space that should be provided? 

A. I think the minimum cubic air space should be 600 feet for adults and 400 
cubic feet for children and, better yet, 1,000 cubic feet for adults and 600 feet for 
children. With a reasonable flow of air 600 feet would make it moderately healthy. 
This also would apply to factories, except in such factories as are giving of¥ dust and 
fumes, where 800 to 1,000 feet should be provided. 

Q. In your judgment, is it possible to exterminate tuberculosis if occupancy, either 



177 

for living or working purposes, of ordinary interior rooms lighted only by a window 
from an outside dark room which has itself only windows onto a narrow airshaft 
three to four feet wide is permitted? 

A. No. 

Q. What changes in the present tenement house law and building law relating 
to hygienic and sanitary construction would yon suggest? 

A. I think there should be such changes in the Tenement House Law, or in the 
interpretation of the law as to prohibit the use of those dark rooms, those that are 
technically to be regarded as light rooms, those that open into another room. No room 
in which it is not possible to read in the center of the floor during all hours of day- 
light is fit for human occupancy. I think there should also be some provision in 
regard to the number of individuals of different sexes occupying the same room other 
than husband and wife; also that there should be provision for night inspection of 
certain tenements to guard against this overcrowding of sexes in the same rooms. 

Q. To what extent do you attribute the prevalence of tuberculosis in New York 
to the housing conditions? 

A. I should say that, as contrasted with other cities, the housing conditions here 
played a very considerable part in the prevalence of tuberculosis, because wages are 
higher here, food is better, hours for labor are shorter, and the climate is better than 
in the majority of great European cities and we have a large amount of sunlight as 
compared with other cities. 

Q. What, in your judgment, would it cost to cure those now sick with tubercu- 
losis in the city and to make them able to continue their work without danger to them- 
selves or others? 

A. It would cost in the neighborhood of seven to ten million dollars to equip the 
necessary number of beds for all those now sick with tuberculosis in New York City. 
The maintenance of these camps and hospitals for the first year would be about five 
million dollars, but would rapidly diminish after the first year. _ Chicago is actually 
starting such a campaign of extermination now and trying to raise the money neces- 
sary to lift every case out of the city, which is a source of infection, and thus prevent 
'the spread of the disease to others. We have 10,000 deaths each year, and we breed 
two cases from every case in the city each year. 

The class of people that come from the other side are, as a whole, a healthy and a 
superior class. We breed two-thirds of our consumption right here in this city. It 
is absolutely impossible to breed consumption in the open air. A well-lighted and well- 
ventilated room is practically safe to live in, even with a tuberculous person. It is not 
enough merely to have a minimum of light in a room, but it is essentia.1 that rooms 
should have abundance of light to make them sanitary. A dark room is never kept 
clean. 

Q. Is there any possible method that you would suggest by which the Health 
Department and Tenement House Department could co-operate? 

A. There is no way out of the situation except for the two Departments to work 
together. I think it would be perfectly within the power of the Health Department 
to declare such dark rooms nuisances and menaces to health, and they should be shut 
up as though they were poisoned wells. They are unfit for human occupancy, as decent 
living conditions never can be had under such conditions. 

In Chicago, Dr. Evans, the Health Officer, issues orders to have such rooms shut 
up or made sanitary, and looks up the number of deaths from consumption and diph- 
theria in such buildings and threatens to publish the name in the papers unless his 
orders are obeyed. As a result of this method, the death rate in Chicago today is 
lower than that of any other city in the United States of its population. 



178 

Statistics Showing the Relation Between Room Overcrowding and Congestion 
OF Population per Acre, and Mortality Rates. 

A. In New York City. 

The following statement is quoted from a paper, "The Effects of Urban Conges- 
tion on Italian Women and Children," by Dr. Antonio Stella, who appeared before 
the Commission. The statistics are taken from an investigation made by the Depart- 
ment of Health of New York City in 1907-8 and from the State Census of 1905. 

While the general death rate for the City of New York in 1905-6 for all ages 
was 18.35, and under five years was 51.5, in some of the various Italian blocks here 
examined it was respectively: ^ 

Density of 
Population 
Block. per Acre For All Under 5 

in 1905. Ages. Years. 

A 958 245 87.03 

B 1,107 24.9 92.2 

C slightly under 750 22.4 81.6 

D slightly under 750 22.57 74.7 

E 809 22.3 83.12 

F 975 23.2 59.5 

The death rate for 1905-6 for the entire City for those under five years in the 
Italian blocks was as follows : 



For Acute Respira- 
tory Diseases. City 
Death Rate, 12.7. 
Italian Blocks 



For Diarrhoeal Dis- 
eases. City Death 
Rate, 12.9. 
Italian Blocks. 



For Diphtheria. 

Death Rate, 2.8C 

Italian Blocks 



City 



A 32.9 

B 47.8 

C 35.3 

D 28.6 

E .V 49 

F 17.9 



A 22.3 

B 19.1 

C 17.6 

D 13.8 

E 19.3 

F 14.9 



A 4.34 

B 3.71 

C 4.61 

D 8.93 

E ;... 3.20 



For the sake of brevity, we call Blocks A, B, C, D, E, F, respectively, the follow- 
ing Italian blocks : 

Block A — East 112th, East 113th streets, 1st and 2nd avenues. 

Block B — Mott, Prince, Elizabeth, East Houston streets. 

Block C — East 114th, East 115th street, 1st and 2nd avenues. 

Block D — East 108th, East 109th streets, 1st and 2nd avenues. 

Block E — East 106th, East 107th streets, 1st and 2nd avenues. ' 

Block F — Jones, Cornelia, West 4th and Bleecker streets. 



179 

Population, Deaths and Death Rates per 1,000, at Different Age Groups, for Years 
1905 and 1906, From All Causes, Diphtheria, Acute Respiratory and Diarrhoeal Dis- 
eases (Under Five Years), in Certain Square Blocks of the City of New York. 
Italian Block No. 2 — Mott, Prince, Elizabeth and East Houston Streets. 

Acute Res- Diarrhoeal 

Population. Death Rate. Diphtheria. piratory. Diseases. 

Male. Female. Male. Female. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. 

Under 5 years., 540 610 90.7 93.5 5 4.34 55 47.8 22 19.1 

Total 1,150 92.2 

5 to 19 years... 950 1,004 2.10 6.0 2 1.02 .'. 

Total 1,954 4.09 

20 to 44 years.. 1,194 1,260 9.2 2.38 1 .40 1 .40 

Total 2,454 5.70 

45 to 64 years.. 226 260 39.8 34.6 4 8.21 .. 

Total 486 37.0 

65 and over.... 10 4 400.0 250.0 1 75.5 

Total 14 357.0 

All ages 2,920 3,128 25.66 24.2 6 .99 63 13.7 .. 

Total 6,058 24.9 

Jew^ish Block No. 4 — Madison, Henry, Catherine and Market Streets. 

Acute Res- Diarrhoeal 

Population. Death Rate. Diphtheria. piratory. Diseases. 

Male. Female. Male, Female. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. 

Under 5 years.. 480 430 58.3 41.9 5 5.49 5 5.5 9 9.9 

Total 910 50.0 

5 to 19 years... 1,188 1,240 3.37 4.03 2 .82 

Total 2,428 3.71 

20 to 44 years.. 1,570 1,370 8.92 7.30 

Total 2,940 8.16 

45 to 64 years.. 322 352 31.06 22.73 

Total 674 26.71 

65 and over.... 8 32 875.0 62.5 25.0 

Total 40 225.0 

All ages 3,568 3,424 17.66 12.56 7 1.00 6 .9 

Total 6,992 15.16 

City of New York— Years 1905 and 1906. 

Acute Respi- 
ratory Dis- Diarrhoeal 
Number of Death Diphtheria. eases. Diseases. 
Population. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. Deaths. Rate. 

Under 5 years 472,667 24,539 51.5 1,327 2.80 6,019 12.7 6,076 129 
All ages ....4,088,780 74,958 18.33 

The statistics of the Department of Health also give figures which show that 
in the block bounded by Mott, Prince, Elizabeth and East Houston streets, which had 



180 

in 1905. a total population of 3,468, there were in the two years 1905 and 1906 a total 
of 151 deaths. This block is predominantly Italian. In a predominantly Jewish block 
bounded by Madison, Henry, Catherine and Market streets, chiefly Jewish, the total 
death rate for 1905 and 1906 was 15.16 per 1,000. The density here, however, is less 
than 750 per acre. While it is true that the death rate is slightly less than in the City 
at a whole, the total population in 1905 was only 3,496, while the number of deaths in 
the two years 1905 and 1906 was 106. This is a much higher death rate than is found 
among the Jews in country districts. 

Dr. W; H. Guilfoy, Registrar of Records of the Department of Health, says: 
"Italian children have a mortality of almost five times that of the entire city, the 
Italian children show the highest mortality from scarlet fever and whooping cough, 
with the Hebrew children a close second ; neglect of the use of diphtheria anti-toxin 
produces a mortality rate from diphtheria among the Italian children of three times 
that of all other nationalities combined, while among the Hebrew children the rate is 
almost twice that of the normal average." 

Death Rate per 1,000 in Certain Typical Square Blocks, Old City of New York, 1906. 



Type. -J 11 ^ 1^ ,| i| 1^ 

m OQ PhH u Xcn i-ip^ wcl, qq 

A— German 16.30 1.48 2.22 2.96 ... 0.74 1.4S 

B— Austro-Hungarian .... 16.43 1.21 0.72 2,17 1.93 1.93 1.93 

C— Russian-Pole 17.47 0.83 0.83 1.94 1.94 1.94 1.11 

D— Italian 19.26 0.96 ... 1.74 0.96 8.29 2.31 

E— Bohemian 19 57 4.10 1.82 3.19 ... 1.82 1.37 

F— Irish 24.64 4.78 ... 5.05 0.67 1.91 2.70 

G— Chinese 34.65 12.47 0.69 5.54 3.46 0.69 

H— Syrian 35.83 3.91 1.96 1.30 4.57 3.91 3.91 

I— Negro 38.56 8.64 0.66 4.66 2.00 5.99 2.66 

General rates, entire City. 18.71 2.39 0.75 2.74 1.34 1.37 1.48 

"Under the rates from broncho-pneumonia, the most surprising rate of the whole 
table appears the rate among Italian children, reaching the enormous height of 710 
per 100,000, more than seven and a half times higher than that of American children. 
When we consider under what conditions the Italian famiUes herd together, and the 
opportunities this affords for the spread of contagious and infectious diseases, the 
difficulties encountered by the sanitary officers can be imagined but not described. 

"The lobar-pneumonia colurnn reiterates the story as to the Italian national pre- 
disposition to disease of the respiratory tract. Here the Italian leads, with none of the 
others a close second." 

It is well known that the Italians, Austro-Hungarians and Hebrews are among 
the most congested people in the City. 

Dr. Guilfoy calls attention to the fact that the death rate of the City has practi- 
cally marked time for several years, and there has been only most insignificant and 
negligible decrease in the death rate in 1910 from the death rate in 1909. 

Morbidity Rates — It is, of course, inevitable that there should be more people 
sick than those who die, and the following report, prepared by the Standing Commit- 
tee on Hospitals of the State Charities Aid Association, indicate the total number of 
those sick with all diseases in 1905, as well as the average duration and days of each 
disease and the number of each disease for the year 1905. As has been noted, there 
was a large total number of cases of sickness in addition to the deaths from any and 
every disease. The deaths from consumption, excluding tubercular meningitis, was 
9,014 from 30,046 cases of consumption, and the average duration is given as 500 days, 
making a total of 15,023,000 days of sickness of consumption, and the average number 
of people sick daily was 41,159. There was a total of nearly 50,000,000 days of sick- 
ness in New York City from all diseases, according to the statement of this Com- 
mittee, in 1905. 



181 



Showing Amount of Sickness in Greater New York in 1905. 



Typical Diseases 
Names of Disease. 



Typhoid Fever 

Tubercular Meningitis 

Pneumonia, excluding broncho 
pneumonia 

Broncho-pneumonia 

Diarrhea and enteritis (largely 
under two years) 

Diphtheria 

Smallpox 

Measles 

Scarlet Fever 

Whooping Cough 

Tuberculosis, excluding tuber- 
cular meningitis 

Total, all diseases 73,714 



No. of 


No. of 


Average 


Total days 


Average 


deaths 


cases oc- 


duration 


sickness 


daily 


from each 


currmg 


in days 


from each 


sickness 


disease 


from each 


of each 


disease 


during 


1905. 


disease 
1905 


disease 


1905. 


1905. 


649 


4.333 


40 


173,320 


475 


644 


859 


60 


41,540 


114 


5,657 


28,285 


20 


848,550 


2,325. 


4,126 


13,753 


30 


825,180 


2,261 


5,877 


19,590 


7 


137,130 


376 


1,544 


13,673 


25 


341,825 


936 


9 


46 


40 


1,840 


5 


520 


52,000 


21 


520,000 


1,425 


473 


8,071 


30 


282,485 


774 


408 


40,800 


10 


408,000 


1,118 


9,014 


30,046 


500 


15,023,000 


41,159 



1,532,135 



32.2 49,434,740 135,396 



The density per acre and corrected general death rate of the five Boroughs is as 
follows for 1909: 

Density per Death Consumption 
Acre. Rate. Death Rate. 

Manhattan 167.7 16.40 7.17 

The Bronx 13.3 16.12 4.59 

Brooklyn 30.9 15.90 4.16 

Queens 2.9 16.14 2.55 

Richmond 2A 18.62 m 

B. In Foreign Countries. 

Physical Results of Overcrowding — At Glasgow an exhaustive inquiry revealed 

the following figures as the result of investigations among 72,857 school children. 
The schools were divided into four groups, viz. : 

Schools. Children. 

(a) Poorest districts 26 24,661 

(b) Poor districts 27 25,348 

(c) Better class 11 11,453 

(d) Higher class 9 11,395 

It was found that so surely as a child was found in group (a) he or she was 
likely to be smaller and lighter than the children from group (b), and so on with 
the other groups. But it was when the average height and weight were classified 
in correlation with the number of rooms in the houses in which the children lived 
that the most striking results were obtained. Taking the children of all ages, from 
five to eighteen, the average weight and height, classified according to the number of 
rooms, was found to be as follows : 

Height. Weight. 

One room : Inches. Lbs. 

Boys 46.6 52.6 

Girls 46.3 51.5 

Two rooms : 

Boys 48.1 56.1 

Girls 47.8 54.8 

Three rooms : 

Boys 50.0 60.6 

Girls 49.6 59.4 

Four rooms : 

Boys 51.3 64.3 

Girls 51.6 65.5 



182 

Investigations at Edinburgh had similar results, with the addition that it was 
found there was an equivalent difference in mental power. 

An investigation made in Leipsig showed a death rate in rooms with three or 
more occupants, for adults, 3 times, and for children under 1 year 4 times greater 
than in rooms with one occupant. 

In a recent year the County of Durham, England, in which there was 28.4 per 
cent, of overcrowding, had a death rate of 18.64 per 1,000, while the County of Essex, 
with only 2.7 per cent, of overcrowding, had a death rate of 14.03 per 1,000. 

The following records of death rates, according to room occupancy, indicate 
the dire results of too close contact and those conditions of living which such over- 
crowding indicates. Only by a careful study, such as this, can the results of over- 
crowding be definitely ascertained, and of course it bears hardest upon infants, who 
are not able to get out of their free will into the open air. Dr. George Newman, 
Medical Officer of Health for the Borough of Finsbury, one of London's most con- 
gested wards, says : 

"We find the highest infant mortality rates occur in the one-roomed homes, and 
the lowest in the four-roomed homes," and the following table abundantly illustrates 
his findings : 

Infant Mortality per 
1,000 Births. 



Diarrhea 

Census and other 

Size of tenements. popula- All'Causes. Zymotic Prematurity. 

tion. Diseases. Immaturity. 

1901. 1905. 1906. 1905. 1906. 1905. 1906. 

One-room tenement 14,516 219 211 53 tl 30 69 

Two-room tenement 31,482 157 178 42 56 26 48 

Three-room tenement 21,280 141 188 34 43 44 55 

Four-room tenement and 

upwards of four rooms. 33,185 99 121 19 26 19 52 

Borough of Finsbury 101,463 148 157 37 45 27 48 

Sir Shirley Murphy, Medical Officer of Health, of London, in a report to the 
Committee on Physical Deterioration, furnished the following information regarding 
the results in London in 1901. 



Death Rate per 1,000 Living. 



Proportion of total population living in tene- From all 

ments of one or two rooms. Causes. 

Districts with 0.12 per cent, overcrowding 13.4 

Districts with 12.15 per cent, overcrowding 16.1 

Districts with 15.20 per cent, overcrowding 17.7 

Districts with 20.25 per cent, overcrowding 15.3 

Districts with 25.32 per cent, overcrowding 18.9 

Districts with 32 per cent, and upwards overcrowding.... 19.7 



From 
Phthisis. 



1.1 
1.4 
1.6 
1.5 
1.9 
2.0 



Finsbury, 1903 to 1906 — Death Rate Per 1,000 Persons From All and Certain Causes 

in Houses or Tenements of Several Sizes. 

(By Dr. George Newman.) 

Census 

Population 

Size of Tenements. 1901. All Causes. Phthisis. 

101,463 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 

One-room tenement 14,516 38.9 40.6 32.7 39.0 4.5 4.5 3.5 3.4 

Two-room tenement 31,482 22.6 21.9 19.5 22.5 2.8 2.2 2.1 2.3 

Three-room tenement 21,280 11.7 14.7 12.3 14.8 1.2 2.3 1.3 1.4 

Four-room tenement and upwards 33,185 5.6 7.5 6.6 6.4 0.63 1.2 0.81 0.93 

The Borough Death Rate 19.8 21.1 18.9 20.7 22 Z5 2\ Z3 



183 



For the purpose of this table it has been necessary to use the census population 
(1901) for all four of the years included in the table. It should not, however, be for- 
gotten that the population is declining, and the death rates for each year in this table 
are, therefore, approximate only. 

The following tables were prepared by Dr. Herman M. Biggs, of the New York 
Health Department for London data : 

Phthisis. 
(Death rate per 1,000 living, 1894-1898 Inclusive.) 



Proportion of Total Population Living 
more than two in a room — in Tene- 
ments of Less than Five Rooms, 



Death Rate per 1,000 Living. 



1894. 


18.95 


1896. 


1897. 


1898. 


1.07 


1.18 


1.07 


1.14 


1.10 


1.38 


1.49 


1.46 


1.42 


1.43 


1.57 


1.64 


1.61 


1.63 


1.61 


1.58 


1.83 


1.67 


1.75 


1.80 


1.81 


2.09 


2.06 


2.10 


2.07 


2.11 


2.42 


2.13 


2.32 


2.42 


2.46 


2.66 


2.55 


2.64 


2.63 



Districts with under 10' per cent. 

Districts under 10 to 15 per cent. 

Districts with 15 to 20 per cent. 

Districts with 20 to 25 per cent. 

Districts with 25 to 30 per cent. 

Districts with 30 to 25 per cent. 

Districts with over 35 per cent. 



Phthisis. 
(Death Rates per 1,000 Living, 1898.) 



Proportionof Total Population Living (in 
Tenements of Less Than 5 Rooms), 

More Than Two in a Room. 

Districts with under 10 per cent 0.23 

Districts with 10 to 15 per cent 0.39 

Districts with 15 to 20 per cent 0.62 

Districts with 20 to 25 per cent 0.57 

Districts with 25 to 30 per cent 0.78 

Districts with 30 to 35 per cent 0.81 

Districts with over ^5 per cent 0.85 



20 



25 35 



45 



55 and 
up 



0.39 


1.19 


1.50 


1.94 


2.05 


1.77 


0.34 


1.44 


2.13 


3.09 


2.68 


1.91 


0.36 


1.05 


2.01 


3.41 


3.43 


2.36 


0.37 


1..S9 


2.39 


3.66 


4.01 


2.78 


0.33 


1.57 


2.58 


4.16 


4.58 


3.04 


0.49 


2.00 


3.00 


5.58 


6.26 


3.26 


0.50 


1.82 


3.25 


6.04 


6.12 


4.41 



Dr. Newman remarks : "It may be said that poverty, alcoholism, vice and so 
forth bring about these variations, something more exact in relation is necessary if 
its effects alone is to be studied. Of course, overcrowding brings many of the other 
disabilities, and that is part of the way in which it operates." 

Sir Shirley Murphy has shown that for 1891-1900 the infant mortality in districts 
of London with under 10 per cent, of overcrowding (more than two in a room), is 
142 per 1,000 births, whereas, in districts with a percentage of overcrowding over 
35 it is 223 per 1,000 births. 

Dr. Newman, in his "Health of the State," gives the following statistics: 

In overcrowded communities life is shorter than under other conditions. Sir 
Shirley Murphy has compared the length of life in Hempstead with that in South- 
wark, a poor and overcrowded district, and he finds that, comparing males in the 
two communities, out of 1,000 born in Southwark, 326 die before reaching 5 years 
of age, while in Hempstead, out of 1,000 born, only 189 die before reaching the age of 
5 years. Again, out of 1,000 children aged 5 in Southwark, 40 die before reaching the 
age of 15, while in Hempstead the corresponding number is 24. At ages 25 to 45, 
when probably, so far as the community is concerned, the economic value of life is 
at a maximum, the difference in the two communities is most marked. Thus, of 
1,000 males aged 25, living in Southwark, 236 die before reaching the age of 45 
years, while the corresponding figure for Hempstead is only 125. Expressed in an- 
other way, Southwark males lose 13.0 per cent, of the period of infancy, 17.7 ner cent. 
of the school age period, 28.0 per cent, of the working period, and 59.1 per cent, of 
the period of decline. It has been estimated that the "expectation of life" in 
Hempstead at birth is 50 years, as compared with 36 years in Southwark. 

A more convincing proof of the disastrous physical results of overcrowding ap- 
pears when we examine the mortality statistics for various districts. For example, 
in Edgbaston, the suburb of Birmingham, the general death rate is 13.1, in the over- 
crowded Floodgate area in the middle of the city it is 31.5. In Hempstead it is 9.4 as 
compared with Finsbury, the most overcrowded tenement district of London, where 
it is 21.5. In the least overcrowded census of Finsbury, the death rate is 14.4; in the 
most overcrowded census area it is 31.4. 



184 

In 19G5 Phthisis was higher in the urban counties of England and Wales than 
in the rural by 19.3 per cent. Even in the labor towns Phthisis follows density to 
the acre. In the centre of London or Manchester, or Birmingham, Phthisis mortality 
is higher than on the circumferences of the towns. There are, of course, many 
causes for this, but, undoubtedly one is density of population, that is, overcrowding. 
Dr. Robertson, the Medical Officer of Birmingham, has shown that in the over- 
crowded Floodgate area in the centre of the city during the five years 1899-1903, the 
Phthisis death rate was 3.7 per 1,000 of the population, whereas, in Edgbaston, of 
normal districts, it was only 0.937 ; that is to say, four times less, or one- fourth as 
great. 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION OF THE NEW YORK 
CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION. ALDERMAN 
TRISTAM B. JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee have held six meetings and examiijed nineteen people at these 
meetings, and in addition they familiarized themselves with the reports of the Bureau 
of Immigration, Department of Commerce and Labor, report of the Commission of 
Immigration of the State of New York, the Federal Immigration Commission, and 
of various Immigration Commissions other than the State, as well as the practices 
of foreign countries, the reports of various organizations in the city dealing with this 
problem, and have had before it the officers of these societies to give them the ben- 
efit of their experience with relation to immigration. 

Your Committee had a twofold purpose in the view : First, to ascertain the pres- 
ent condition of immigrants in the congested sections of New York City, and, second, 
to ascertain the relation between immigration and congestion. 

Summary of the Statements Before Your Committee. 

At the first session of your Committee, Hon. William Williams, Federal Com- 
missioner of Immigration of the Port of New York, was_ present. He stated that 
the Department did not follow up immigrants, but merely inquired where they were 
going and accepted their statement, and did nothing further until they heard from 
them as having become public charges. He gave it as his opinion that the present 
phraseology that the immigrant might be deported as "likely to become a public 
charge" was too indefinite, and that legislation should be enacted to give the author- 
ities a better chance to keep out the undesirables. He thought that two-thirds of the 
immigrants were not wanted economically, and that probably 25 per cent, of the 
immigration is stimulated by those on the other side who, while ihey may not have 
been agents of steamship companies, nevertheless were agents receiving a commission 
for those whom they induced to migrate. Mr. WilUams stated that he felt quite 
sure that some of the governments acquiesced in it, as was the case with the Hun- 
garian Government, as he knew that there was a contract between the Government 
and the Cunard Steamship Line for immigrants coming from Fiume to New Y-ork, 
and that the contract was in his office. 

The most important subjects considered by the Committee in relation to the 
problem of immigration have been : 

1st. Does immigration cause congestion in New York City? 

2d. Does immigration cause room overcrowding in New York City? 

3d. Do immigrants reduce the wages paid to unskilled and skilled laborers in the 
city? 

4th. Do immigrants increase the crime and delinquency in the city? 

5th. Are further measures needed to restrict immigration and distribute immi- 
grants ? 

The conclusions of the Committee on these subjects are as follows: 

First — Does immigration cause congestion in New York City? 

The Committee differentiate between congestion and room overcrowding in their 
study of congestion and immigration, although the Federal Immigration Commission 
do not do so, but simply state that the word "congestion" is used for convenience 
and to denote the ratio of adult persons per room and per sleeping room. The result 
of the Federal Census of 1910 shows that the population of over half the blocks 
in Manhattan which in 1905 had a density of population per acre over 
750 and over, has increased largely from 1905 to 1910, while also most of the density 
of population per acre of areas with an overwhelming congestion in 1905, have in- 
creased during these five years. Most of these blocks are now occupied by immi- 
grants, and although some of them have been naturalized, yet many have been in 
the country a comparatively short time. 

Dr. Walter Laidlaw, Secretary of the Federation of Churches and Christian 



185 

Organizations, states that it is a general rule that the greater the density of population 
per acre the higher the percentage of aliens. Information on this subject presented 
by those who have appeared before the Committee differs very widely. Mr. Cyrus 
L. Sulzberger, until recently President of the United Hebrew Charities, stated that 
immigration does not create congestion of population, although it does increase the 
population of the cities. Mr. Sulzberger admitted that a large proportion of the im- 
migrants arriving in New York City live in congested districts for a time, but that 
they invariably improve their financial conditions after being in the city for a time 
and move to other sections, while it is only their poverty which keeps them in the 
congested districts. He further urged that density per acre in 1855 and density now 
must be considered in this relation and the difference in buildings, and the difference 
between private dwellings should also be taken into consideration. 

It was also admitted by Mr. Morris D. Waldman, Secretary of the United He- 
brew Charities, that congestion in the lower East Side was caused by economic condi- 
tions, that most of the people directly or indirectly were dependent upon the gar- 
ment industry and that these were situated within walking distance of their homes. 
So long as the wages are low, making carfare and lunches such a serious item in 
the workers' weekly budget, and working hours are so long, these conditions of 
overcrowding will continue. 

Dr. Walter Laidlaw submitted a statement with reference to the density of pop- 
ulation in the different blocks and the proportion of population in these blocks who 
were immigrants, especially those living in this country for a short time. He stated 
that there seems to be a general concurrence that immigrants do live in congested 
sections of New York City and that the preponderant majority of immigrants or 
alien population of the city are in blocks with a very high density of population per 
acre is indicated by the figures of the Federal Census, although the compilation as to 
the nationalities of these blocks has not been completed for 1910. In this connec- 
tion the report of the organizations who distribute to their destination immigrants 
coming to New York City are of peculiar significance. The North American Civic 
League have arrangements by which they transfer immigrants from Ellis Island to 
their destination in the city, and they report that during the period from October 5 
to November 30, 1910, they distributed 3,499 such persons, exclusive of Hebrews. 
Of this number 384 were placed below Chambers street in Manhattan, 1,400 between 
Chambers street and 42d street, while only 491, less than one-half of the total number, 
went to Brooklyn — that is, over one-half were sent to Manhattan below 42d street. 
It may also be noted, in passing, that the majority of these were Greeks — 1,816 — 
of whom 277 located below Chambers street, and 880 between Chambers street and 
42d street. The Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society reported that for 
the month of November, 1910, 732 immigrants immediately upon arrival were taken 
to their destination. Of this number 584 were men, 116 women and Z2 children. 
Considerably over one-half, 424, were located below 14th street in Manhattan, 114 in 
Manhattan north of 14th street; in other words nearly three-fourths were located in 
Manhattan, while only 145, or roughly one-fifth, were destined for Brooklyn and 
suburbs, and only 49 were for points outside of New York Citj^. These figures, while 
not of course covering a sufficient number of families or sufficient period of time to 
permit of wide generalization, are fairly significant of the way in which immigrants 
are coming directly to the present congested districts of New York City. 

Second — Does immigration cause room overcrowding in New York City? 

Upon this question the Committee have secured information from a number of 
sources. 

1st — The Federal Immigration Commission in their abstract of Report of Im.mi- 
grants in Cities recently issued, states that there is a very large percentage of room 
overcrowding among immigrants. In 2,667 households in which they made investiga- 
tions in New York City, they state in Table 11 that 5.13 per cent, of the households 
occupied apartments of three rooms, 10.2 per cent, two rooms, while 23.2 per cent, of 
the households had two or more occupants per room in the entire household, table 
14. (The Commission have taken the standard of two persons to a room as overcrowd- 
ing instead of one and a half, which is generally considered in America to constitute 
overcrowding). Even on their own standard, nearly one- fourth of the families were 
in overcrowded rooms. The Federal Immigration Commission also report that of 
the 2,648 families in New York City concerning whom they have complete data, 1,944 
or nearly three-quarters had two persons or more per sleeping room. In New York 
City 24.6 of the families, nearly one-fourth, take lodgers or boarders, and in these 
families the average number of lodgers or boarders, is 1.87. Some idea as to the 
overcrowding of rooms which this indicates can be appreciated when it is recalled that 
New York tenements are conspicuous for very small rooms as well as for the dark- 



186 

ness of their rooms. The Committee have, however, made further and direct in- 
vestigation as to the overcrowding in rooms among immigrants. The Tenement House 
Department have investigated several blocks in various sections of the city, especially- 
near 149th street and Morris avenue, in The Bronx, in the western part of Brooklyn 
and on the lower east side and the west side of Manhattan. They found a large 
number of rooms having over two, three and four adults per room, and occasionally 
five, six and over per room, and in a few isolated cases, as many as seven, eight, ten 
and twelve in a room, while over 25 per cent, of the overcrowded families in the blocks 
investigated were found to be living in overcrowded rooms, even upon the basis of 
the requirements of the present Tenement House Law that rooms shall not be so 
overcrowded that there shall be less than 400 cubic feet of air space for every adult 
and 200 cubic feet of air space for every minor under 12 years of age (full report 
of the Tenement House Department is attached). 

Similar conditions were found in investigations made from time to time in 
the crowded sections of the city. Thus in February and March, 1908, an investigation 
was made of 174 scattered Italian families in lower Manhattan and in Little Italy, in 
which it was found that out of 255 rooms, 191 had three occupants or over per 
room. Similarly during 1907 a study was made of 367 families in the block bounded 
t)y Mott, Prince, Elizabeth and East Houston streets, with immigrants from various 
parts of Italy. Out of a total of 405 rooms, 319 were found to have two adults sleep- 
ing in them and 45 had two and a half sleeping in them. A study of the overcrowd- 
ing in tenements, made by the settlements in February, 1910, indicated that of 91 
typical families studied in Manhattan and Brooklyn, less than one-half had two occu- 
pants per room; one-quarter had two and a half, one-seventh three, one-ninth three 
and a half, and one-eighth four per room or over, while two cases were reported of 
six people in a room. One-sixth of the families lived in two-room apartments, one- 
half in three rooms, while most of them took in lodgers to help pay the rent. In 
several instances parents and children, with three to eight adult lodgers, occupied a 
■small apartment of two, three or four rooms. 

Members of the Commission have also visited the congested blocks of New York 
Qty and seen there themselves a great deal of room overcrowding, which is included 
in detail in the report of the Committee on Housing. 

Third — Are newly arrived immigrants able to maintain themselves in congested 
■districts with high land values and high rents, and do they reduce the wages paid to 
unskilled and skilled laborers in the cityf 

On these points, too, the Federal Immigration Commission furnish valuable in- 
formation. They state on page 11 of the report on Immigrants in Cities (section 10) 
that the rents in New York City average $3.89 per room per month, and in Cleveland 
only $2.03 per room per month, that is, the annual rent in New York City for a 
three-room apartment would be $66.96 more than in Cleveland, The evidence pre- 
sented to the Committee as to the ability of immigrants to earn enough to maintain 
themselves and families in New York City immediately upon arriving here varies ex- 
tremely, some of the witnesses claiming that immigrants take lower wages in order 
to maintain an existence on the theory that starvation knows no minimum wage, 
while others asserted that they were able to secure adequate wages immediately upon 
arriving in New York at the work which they wished to undertake, that is, at un- 
skilled labor. The report of the Commissioner General of Immigration shows, too, 
that a large proportion of the immigrants arriving in New York State every year are 
unskilled laborers, the total varying from 40 to 45 per cent., while approximately 30 
per cent, have no occupation, including women and children. A large proportion of 
these classes, of course, remain in New York City. 

Mr. Lajos Steiner stated that peasant immigration laborers are, except in very rare 
■cases, at once self-supporting, and that immigrants do not tend to reduce the wages 
in New York City and so lower the standard of wages. He claimed that the lodging 
accommodations obtainable for a laborer earning $2.50 per day might be, rather than 
immigration, the cause of congestion. 

Mn J. N. Francolini stated that immigrants could secure employment and be self- 
supporting as soon as they reach here, but that their own people were taking advan- 
tage of the immigrants and exploiting them shortly after their arrival. 

Mr. Cyrus L. Sulzburger said statistics show the average wage paid in the cloth- 
ing industry in the United States as given before the Industrial Court, were higher 
than the average wages in the country, but did not indicate how this raises the stand- 
ard of wages paid unskilled laborers in New York City. The Federal Immigration 
Commission also gives figures indicating that in New York City there are less than 
9.7 per cent, of the immigrants in 2,558 households paying under $3 rent per month 
per room, while 45.5 per cent, were paying over $4 per room per month; the average 
rent per person, moreover, of these 2,558 families in New York City is over $3 in 



187 

the case of 49.6 per cent, of the households, indicating that the minimum rent for a 
family of five in practically one-half of the cases is $15 per month. The information 
brought out before the Committee on Labor and Wages in reference to wages paid 
to foreigners in the City works at the Catskill Aqueduct indicate that there were two 
prevailing rates of wages, that of natives in the district in which the work was being 
done, and that of immigrants, and that the tendency of contractors was always to 
secure immigrants from New York City and pay them the prevailing rate of wages 
of immigrants in those districts, from $1.60 to $2 per day. They stated that the 
net earnings of many of these immigrant families are only $400 to $500 a year, and 
admitted that it would not be possible for American families to maintain themselves 
upon these wages, but they could get immigrant workers at these wages. The most 
convincing evidence, however, in the opinion of the Committee, regarding the question 
as to whether an immigrant upon reaching New York is able to earn enough to 
maintain himself and family, is the fact that $800 is the_ minimum upon which a 
man, his wife and three children under working age can m.aintain themselves in Man- 
hattan and most of The Bronx and Brooklyn. This means, of course, an adequate 
number of rooms for the family and sufficient food and clothing, so that the family 
may not only be able to maintain themselves at present, but save a reasonable amount. 
Immigrants in the main are not getting this wage for some time after coming to New 
York City. The evidence presented by Mr. C. L. Sulzburger shows_ that Hebrews, 
for instance, live in most congested conditions for a series of years in the effort to 
save enough to get out of congestion and afford the American standard of living, but 
that they live for a period of from five to seven and eight years in these conditions. 
His only contention was that there are worse conditions than these conditions for 
people to live under, since in certain countries they are not allowed to live at all. 

Prof. Henry R. Seager, of Columbia University, stated that the evidence tends 
to show that the immigrants are reducing wages in New York City, although he could 
not give figures indicating to what extent this has and is being done. 

It is evident that many immigrants come to America for the purpose of earning 
enough to return to their own country, and while here live at a low standard, as stated 
by the reports of the Bureau of Immigration and admitted by many witnesses before 
your Committee. Many of them stay in New York City and work for practically any 
wages they can get, this being considered thrift. The housing conditions in New 
York City are responsible for the slaughter of many thousands of immigrants an- 
nually, as well as for the slaughter of many American citizens. This is not uniquely 
a question of immigration ; the insanitary housing conditions, however,^ have resulted 
in placing a very heavy burden upon the charities of the city. Definite figures are 
not available as to the extent to which immigrants cause this large expenditure. 
Mr. Sulzburger pointed to the fact that a comparatively sm^ll number of immigrants 
arriving during a year call upon the charities of the city for assistance during that 
year. He admitted, however, that many of these immigrants are living below the 
standard of efficiency, and while they are not dependents at present they will inevitably 
become dependents if the wage earner becomes sick and unable to provide for his fam- 
ily, through insufficient nutrition and improper housing conditions. How many immi- 
grants are maintained during the first three or four years of their residence in New 
York by private charity, so that they will not become public charges and therefore 
subject to deportation, is not known. 

Fourth — Do immigrants increase crime and delinquency in the City? 

The Committee have not had sufficient evidence presented based upon the knowl- 
edge of present distribution of immigrants in New York City, to prove whether there 
is any larger percentage of crime and delinquency among immigrants living under 
normal conditions of density and room occupancy than among native-born Americans, 
with the exception of those lapses or failures to comply with city ordinances which 
they do not understand. 

Reference has been made, however, in the evidence presented before the Com- 
mitteeto the disregard of the rights of property by immigrant tenants and the wilful 
demolition of and injury to such property very frequently. On the other hand the ten- 
dency of congested conditions of immigrants is to impel them to misdemeanors of 
various sorts. 

Fifth — Are further measures needed to restrict immigration and distribute immi- 
grants? 

The Committee appreciate that the present system of distributing immigrants is 
inadequate as the statistics show the total number of immigrants distributed by the 
charitable agencies, employment exchanges and the City, State and Federal institutions 
aggregate so far as can be ascertained less than 60,000 persons a year, counting even 
those that have been placed two and three times, while the citv's population increases 
very rapidly. 



188 

In his evidence before the State Commission on Immigration in New York in 
1909, Mr. Sulzburger, who was at that time President of the Industrial Removal 
Agency, which is exclusively concerned with the distribution of Hebrews of New 
York City, stated : 

"A careful scrutiny is made by the office here of all applicants for removal and 
of the total number who apply; less than one-half (^) are sent. Only those are se- 
lected who, upon investigation, give promise of making successful workers. The shift- 
less, the lasy and the incompetent are carefully weeded out and refused consideration." 

These classes are apt to remain in New York City and they inevitably make serious 
problems for the City authorities or for private charities. It is unfortunately the 
case that the public is obliged to look after these people in the long run and the 
authority which is ultimately held responsible for the support of the immigrants must 
be permitted to exercise closer control over them. 

As to the physical conditions of immigrants in New York City, adequate statistics 
have been prepared by Dr. William H. Guilfoy, Registrar of Records of the Board 
of Health, and by Dr. Antonio Stella, a prominent Italian physician, showing that 
the death rate among Italians is extremely high, and even among Jews in the con- 
gested districts is much higher than the normal death rate among Jews living in smaller 
cities and rural districts. 

The Committee believe that immigration undoubtedly causes undue congestion 
of population per acre and frightful room overcrowding under the present laws, and 
with the present attitude of the public toward the enforcement of these laws. The 
Committee, however, equally feel that the conditions existing among immigrants in 
New York City to-day are due primarily not to the fact that we have such a large 
number of immigrants, but distinctly to the four following facts : 

1st. The merciless way in which immigrants have been exploited by the real 
estate interests, manufacturing interests, railroads and bankers. 

2d. That the immigrants coming here in recent years from countries where they 
are used to close police supervision and control find in our American cities no control 
over them such as they have been accustomed to, while they desire to avoid even 
restraint, and some decline to obey even the laws they thoroughly understand. 

3d. To the City and State's failure to exercise proper control over immigrants 
and to enforce the laws of the City and State in this regard. 

4th. To the lack of control by the City over the real estate interests, the traction 
interests, including the railroads of the City, and failure to enforce the laws with refer- 
ence to these interests. 

The presence of immigrants in large numbers in this country has been an excuse 
for the continuation of congestion and room overcrowding, but is not necessarily 
the primary cause of these conditions. 

The Committee, therefore, in making their recommendations as to methods of 
dealing with immigration to prevent congestion, appreciate that the problem is not 
purely a city problem, that it is as well a State and Federal problem. They would, 
however, make the following recommendations, dividing them into three parts : Federal 
action. Municipal action and State action, since they feel that the problem is not 
primarily a problem of restricting immigration as suggested by the Federal Immigra- 
tion Commission to a certain percentage of the average of each arriving during a 
given period or year, to those unable to read or write in some language, and the 
exc'lusion of unskilled laborers unaccompanied by wife or family, and placing a lim- 
itation of the arrivals annually at any port, or even materially increasing the amount 
of money to be in the possession of immigrants at the port of arrival. 

The Committee feel, however, that emphasis should be laid on admitting every 
class of immigrants upon probation for a definite period of time, that the right of 
deportation or rejection must continue during that time, and that citizenship or even 
residence in the country must be made more valuable or valued, and closer super- 
vision and control over immigrants exercised by Federal authorities by States and by 
Localities. 

Recommendations of the Committee on Immigration. 

The Committee recommend : 

First — Policies which, in their judgment, must be undertaken to prevent immigrants 
from working in congested districts and from living in overcrowded rooms. 

Second — Matters w-hich the Committee believe should be taken up at once. 
I. Recommendations in Reference to Policy Which in Their Judgment Must Be 
Undertaken to Prevent Immigrants From Working in Congested Districts and 
From Living in Overcrowded Rooms. 

Large numbers of poor and unskilled immigrants are allowed to remain in this 
country under no supervision or control by the Government unless some flagrant 
breach of the law is brought to official notice or unless they become charges upon 



189 

the public charities. While this continues, the congestion of immigrants in tenements 
and room overcrowding will continue. 

The Committee have studied with care the main recommendations of the Federal 
Commission on Immigration and especially those dealing with the restriction of immi- 
grants and methods of restricting immigration. While they recognize, as pointed out 
in the conclusion which the Committee, have reached with the evidence presented to 
them, that with present laws, immigration produces to some extent this congestion 
and room overcrowding, the Committee nevertheless feel that the prevention of 
these two evils require not so much a policy of restriction as of distribution. They 
would agree entirely that immoral characters, those with criminal records and diseases, 
and persons of similar classes should be excluded as suggested by the report of the 
Federal Immigration Commission, also that the same law should apply to those 
coming to the country as seamen. On the other hand, in their judgment the distri- 
bution of immigrants who are now living in congested districts, the prevention of 
room overcrowding among these immigrants as also the prevention of these conditions 
among others than immigrants that come in the future, can be prevented by measures 
other than those of exclusion suggested by the Federal Immigration Commission. The 
objects to be obtained by exclusion as suggested by the Federal Immigration Com- 
mission are as follows : 

■'(a) That as far as possible, the aliens excluded should be those who come to 
this country with no intention to become American citizens or even to maintain a 
permanent residence here, but merely to save enough by the adoption, if necessary, 
of low standards of living to return permanently to their home country. Such persons 
are usually men unaccompanied by wives and children. 

"(b) That a sufficient number be debarred to produce a marked effect upon the 
present supply of unskilled labor. 

"(c) That as far as possible the aliens excluded should also be those who, by 
reason of their personal qualities or habits, would least readily be assimilated or 
would make the least desirable citizens." 

The following methods of restricting immigrants have been suggested by the 
Federal Commission : 

"(a) The exclusion of those unable to read or write in some language. 

"(b) The limitation of the number of each race arriving each year to a certain 
percentage of the average of that race arriving during a given period of years, 

"(c) The exclusion of unskilled laborers unaccompanied by wives and families. 

"(d) The limitation of the number of immigrants arriving annually at any port. 

"(e) The material increase in the amount of money required to be in the posses- 
sion of the immigrants at the port of arrival. 

"(f) The material increase of the head tax. 

"(g) The levy of the head tax so as to make a marked discrimination in favor of 
men with families. 

"All these methods would be effective in one way or another in securing restric- 
tion in a greater or less degree. A majority of the Commission favor the reading 
and writing test as the most feasible single method of restricting undesirable immi- 
grants." 

The Committee urges that appropriate legislation be enacted to do away with the 
limitations now placed upon the authority of the Government to deport aliens for 
cause. In the judgment of the Committee, there should be no time limit set upon this 
right. 

The first essential to securing a normal distribution of immigration is to prevent 
an abnormal congestion where they are not needed and are only a menace to the 
community and to themselves because inevitably victims of exploitation or charity, 
the ultimate results of which are almost equally bad. In order to accomplish this, it 
is essential that the Federal Government adopt more progressive measures to keep in 
closer touch with and more immediate control over the immigrant until he becomes 
naturalized. 

The number of unskilled laborers in any industrial, commercial, construction or 
agricultural community should not exceed a certain proportion of the total population 
of the community gainfully employed. When it does exceed such a proportion, the 
tendency is in most trades inevitably to employ unskilled labor at very low wages to 
do skilled work. As has been abundantly demonstrated, most immigrants are un- 
skilled laborers and tend to lower wages below the minimum required to maintain the 
American standard of living. The amount per year, i. e., the minimum wage, of course, 
varies in different places. 

It is, however, important that working men who wish to maintain a decent stand- 
ard of living should not have their chances imperilled by unskilled immigrants. To 
prevent this, a first step is to establish the standard of living conditions which may 



190 

be properly designated American. This must be substantially identical throughout the- 
country, and although localities can enforce a standard of housing, i. e., the cubic 
air space required for each occupant of a house or tenement, the proportion of yard 
area per lot, angle of sunshme and light for rooms, they will be greatly assisted in 
this as well as in securing proper standards of feeding by the force of publicity as to 
actual conditions. 

The Committee urge that a Department of Labor co-ordinate with the Depart- 
ment of Commerce is most important. This has been urged by the American Federa- 
tion of Labor, but their plan should be somewhat broadened so as to include the in- 
vestigation of and the immediate publicity of the actual living and social conditions in. 
the cities and agricultural districts along the following lines : 

1. Wages, methods and frequency of payment to the skilled and unskilled trades. 

2. Unemployment, extent and causes of ; whether permanent or intermittent, and. 
possibility of securing other or supplementary work at times of idleness of stated, 
trades. 

3. Hygienic conditions in factories and other places of employment, 

4. Housing conditions ; rent for two, three, four or five-room apartments within, 
walking distance of work and transit facilities and fares. 

5. Cost of main staples of consumption. 

6. Educational, social and recreational opportunities, and the predominating 
nationalities or races. 

7. Labor conditions; whether the shops are closed, open or preferential; attitude 
of labor unions toward unorganized labor, and situation" as to strikes. 

Such an investigation, followed by due publicity, should show the real and not 
the nominal rate of wages. 

Such investigation has ample precedent in the investigation being made by the 
Federal Bureau of Labor of conditions of women and child labor, and recently 
made of the Bethlehem Steel Company. Similar investigations are made in England 
by the Boards of Trade, and by similar bodies in Continental countries. 

It will be much easier to secure impartial reports and statements from Federal 
Investigations than from either local or state investigations, and the results will be : 
To indicate where workers skilled or unskilled are needed, and where conditions are 
such that to send immigrants or other unskilled workers will simply further clog the 
labor market already overcrowded and render the difficulty of securing decent living 
wages even greater, and will enable the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization to 
direct the location of immigrants to great advantage. 

It stands to reason that there is no demand for cheap labor in the cities of the 
United States where there is now a large surplus of unskilled and unemployed workers 
and where the cost of living is so great that unskilled laborers cannot earn the mini- 
mum or living wage, and therefore should not attempt to locate. 

It is nevertheless to such places, %. e., the larger cities of the country that many 
immigrants are going. 

Evidence presented before the Committee shows that although some immigrants 
develop diseases after coming to this country due to conditions prior to_ their arrival^ 
that the conditions under which they are living in this country impair the health, 
vitality and earning capacity of a large proportion of them. 

The Committee recommend that a system more nearly similar to the Canadian 
system should be adopted and measures taken for carrying it into effect by which 
immigrants coming for farm labor may be admitted and be directed to farm labor, 
and they raise the question whether it would not be preferable within a short time, 
35 soon as the Federal Government can develop a proper system of control of condi- 
tions of labor, to reconsider the contract clause of the Immigration Law. In their 
judgment, the suggestion made as to the supervision of immigrants by the Federal 
Government will not constitute a menace to labor standards of the country and the 
welfare of the laborers of the country. 

The Committee recommend that most drastic measures be taken to prevent the 
artificial stimulation of immigration now in active operation. 

II. Recommendations in Reference to the Matters Which the Committee Believe 
Should Be Taken Up at Once. Steps to Be Undertaken by the Municipal Govern- 
ment to Prevent Congestion of Population and Room Overcrowding Among Immi- 
grants. 

First — The Committee recommend that the law regarding room overcrowding be 
vigorously enforced and in making this recommendation they realize that the diffi- 
culty in so doing is very great, but not unsurmountable, although added machinery of 
Government may be needed to secure adequate enforcement. In the judgment of 
the Committee this can best be done by placarding the rooms, apartments, etc., show- 
ing the number of occupants, adults or minors, or both, permitted in the apart- 



191 



„.ent. This should of course be in the language of t,^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Te'lat'atthlgS 

^!;'-:^^t^S^^^^S^^^^^^ even of the law at the 

^^"^^Second-The Comn^ittee recon.jend that si.^e te^^ 

Industries and Immigration designed to protect the interests o ^^^...^owding of 

York State, co-operation in the enforcement of he^l^^^^^^^^ g^^^ 

immigrants m rooms should be "'^gea upon u s adapting them- 

where immigrants are located and are ^"^^^^^^l Sdicaed earlier in the report by 

selves to conditions m New York City, as has been incuc destination in the 

arranging for their transferrmg directly ^^'J^.f/^'^^^f^^.u^ed among newly arrived 

City. Only in this way ^^^n enforcement of this law be securea s^ ^^ industries 

immigrants, and the Committee ^o^i^^J^^f^reful Section of the conditions under 
and Immigration shou d be ^^'"ged ^c) maU care*^^^^^ ^.^^^ ^^.^ ^^^^^^^ 

which immigrants are living, especially as to overcr°wQii g , ^^ 

would be uniquely difficult to have generally ^g^^f^f ^7"|fif^'^^ainst'overcrowding. 
to the Tenement House Department caes of voM^^^^^ la g ^.^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ 

Third-It is well known and has been demonstratea to ^^i^^ain themselves- 

are many recent immigrants m New Y°rk C£ to day un^^^^^^ to ^^ ^^^^^^ 

in congested districts withou room overcrowding ^^^ immigrants who 

K bSnte^e^'f^r Jome ^ are' unaTe%? earn the minimum living wage for the 
^^^heComm.tee^.g.^re^en.th^t^^ 

S? tJliS as ll^rnjlops '^l^ S an op|ortunit, to IWe and work^as Jarm 
laborers. Ample precedent for ^^^^^^^i^n by the^ ^^ Industry, 

State Institutions. Thus at the State Agricultural an^^^ ^^^ suggested for 

located upon a tract of. 1,43^ ^1 from 7 to 16 vears are committed to this mstitu- 
immigrants. Boys rangmgm age f/°7 ^ t° ^^/•3'^'doS by the boys for whom the 
tion and all the labor on the f^jm^^^d gardening is done oy 3; Septem- 

school cares The total vaue of al farm poducs .^^^^^^^^^^^ ,he original 

n^v^esTmeS^'v^ithlafSt oot,.*tl, -? on£nd,-^,terplfo(^°.^ Sla^SS 

krSr'^rSriSaSfm^^r^rbr^^^^^^^^ - — ed by your 

Committee. . . , . .1^ Vipiohtq of tenements should be re- 

Fourth-The Commit eeapprec ate that the heights otte ,^„^ a,„,ity f 

. duced it immigrants jr oth«s ^"J°.J"f.^^ 'S Sies to all residents of the eity 
r„rrbrse'd"upon%^lmrc%o3Srth*'!„rld?al family and not primarily 

"^°"Kmh!-¥hr^or,:,'£ee recommend^hat a lis. of^i^ht -ho°ls in New Vori. City 
be given all immigrants arriving =' ,E"'fJ™"»:,f™-tf^j,i^ej from attendance 
destination, with a statement of *« «1™"'=|" S'*i„?e as M, G E. di Palma Cas- 
S',!*;;? ^iirgeror^-iif S:^nfratl!n""litcri?r Italians, stated before the 

^"""T^hefenorance of EngUsh is the =«-"sest b^f^i-^'^Oif =,,f r'*^'j°,y^ 
grants and it is the main cause of their colonizing '" '^/^J^X'^^^people who nnder- 
t"anrth^5roln"Cnlli'°¥b:r':'"rr4;i^r,irrtho haJe Sever gone out 

^"";,*n'ort'cf?f SSlSi'V'e^ve'n^f foTdg'n'Pers from becoming ac,uainted with 
-Tt?a1mf SsSS^nl f-^ClSS^etn^^^ Vt !^ 

stTff;co-\s^K 

line with the co-operation of the .^epartment 01 i ^j ^ ^o the real assimilation 

S7Si^i°fan'ts"lnd?;t fnl^t^T^fem 'to^setfe emX^ent but as well to protect 
*^-Si^r-?hf&tee recommend that legis^^^^^^^^ 
S;?„-of\?[rSS Snv?SbftH??oS^3g"^^^^ 
rySV'cJnviS-of-c^i'L^aS e^iTploT/tSnula'Suring in the State Prisons 



192 

while immigrants and citizens alike are without work. In the judgment of the Com- 
mittee the giving of this work to people now living in congested districts would be 
of material help to them. 

Statement Submitted to the Committee on Immigration. 

A. Statement Submitted by the Hon. William Williams, Federal Commissioner 
of Immigration. 

Mr. Williams expressed the opinion that the present laws were not adequate to 
keep all undesirables out of the country. They are good so far as they go when 
properly enforced, but they do not reach a class of immigrants whose standard of 
living is so low as to render their competition with the American workman too low 
for the latter. He was of the opinion that, if a way could be found to keep out, say, 
20 or 25 per cent., of the immigrants coming here representing the poorest elements, 
the country would be better off. He favored good immigration as strongly as he 
was opposed to bad immigration. 

He stated that the Government does not follow up immigration after they land. 
It takes their statement as to where they are going, and, except in rare instances, 
does nothing further unless they are reported back as having become public charges 
or entered in violation of law (in which case within three years they may be arrested 
and deported). 

When asked whether he considered the present immigration natural or artificial, 
Mr. Williams stated that a certain proportion of it was stimulated and artificial. 
What proportion of it is not easy to say, perhaps 15 or 20 per cent. The stimulation 
occurs largely through runners who, though not regular agents of the steamship lines, 
nevertheless receive a commission for those whom they induce to emigrate. To what 
extent foreign governments are active in sending immigrants to the United States 
is not definitely known. It is not unlikely that various governmental agencies abroad 
are not averse to seeing their undesirable emigrate. 

Asked as to the distribution of immigration by Government methods, Mr. Williams 
said that, if the United States is to continue to allow people to come here who will 
not distribute themselves, then the next best thing to do is to try and distribute them. 
It remains to be seen how successful such attempts will be. It is an extremely difi^icult 
matter to make people go and stay in places not of their own selection. 

Much of the difficulty with the undesirable minority of its immigration consists 
in the fact that it persists in going to the congested districts, where its presence is 
not required. Many of to-day's immigrants do not possess the characteristics needed 
to make them successful at farming or developing new territory. 

B. Part of Statement Submitted by Mr. Cyrus L. Sulzberger, President of the 
United Hebrews Charities. 

He said that we must not approach the subject of congestion in any state of 
hysteria, as this is not the best state of mind in which to deal with a great question, 
in which the prosperity of the City is involved. We have to deal with a great 
problem in the greatest city of the United States, and to remedy an evil without 
destroying or lessening the greatness of the city. This must be done with calmness 
and deliberation, and with a full familiarity of all the facts and influences involved. 

It is a mistake to suppose that the congestion in The City of New Yo_rk_ is due to 
immigration. Even so far as congestion is due to increase in population, it is not due 
to immigration, because the increase in population has been greater in other cities 
than it has in New York, and particularly than it has in the Borough of Manhattan, 
which is the congested borough of The City of New York. The increase in popula- 
tion since the last census is for the whole City, 37.7 per cent, and for the Borough of 
Manhattan, 26 per cent. Many cities in the State have grown largely in excess of this. 

The returns from these widely scattered cities, which could be multiplied in- 
definitely almost, many of which are not afifected by the tide of immigration, indicate 
that the growth of cities is due to other causes. It will probably be found when the 
census returns are complete that the increase in population of cities is far in excess 
of the increase in foreign-born residents, and is due to a tendency to urban industrial 
production rather than rural. There has been a continuous draft on the part of the 
cities from the country, and to the extent that immigration has settled in cities, it 
has checked such draft. 

Increase in population per acre does not necessarily mean increase in congestion. 
It may mean housing facilities for a larger number. A small three-story tenement 
house, remodeled from a private house, such as abounds on the west side of this City, 
may be replaced by a model tenement, containing housing facilities for many times 
the number of the original building and with far less congestion. 

Replying to the statement that the immigrants lower the American standard of 
living because of the low wages that are paid, the following is quoted from the testi- 



193 

mony of Mr. Sulzberger before the House of Representatives' Committee on Immigra- 
tion and Naturalization at the hearing held on March 11, 1910: 

"The men's and women's clothing industry is one which is almost exclusively in 
the hands of these immigrants, both as employers and employees, and gives us, 
therefore, an almost perfect illustration of their influence upon industry, and their 
tendency to reduce or elevate the standard of Hving. We find by the Census Report 
on Manufacturing (part 1, 1905, p. 234, table 169) that, while the product of all 
industries increased from $11,411,000,000 in 1900 to $14,802,000,000 in 1905, an increase 
of 29.7 per cent., the clothing industry increased from $436,000,000 in 1900 to $604,- 
000,000 in 1905, an increase of 38.5 per cent. In other words, while in 1900 clothing 
formed 3.8 per cent, of all industries, in 1905 it formed 4.1 per cent, of all industries. 
Only last month a clothing manufacturer from New York returned from abroad, hav- 
ing established agencies in London, Paris, BerUn, Vienna, Brussels and other cities for 
New York made clothing. This is the second or third manufacturer who has 
recently put American-made clothing into European markets, and in all likelihood a 
large foreign commerce in manufactured clothing, the product of immigration labor, 
will ensue." 

In reply to the suggestion of the Secretary that wages paid to the highest grade 
of workers influence the average, Mr. Sulzberger agreed that this was so, but attention 
is drawn to the fact that it is equally true in all other industries, and if the wages paid 
to immigrants are as high or higher than those paid to others, it follows that they 
do not lower the standard. 

In reply to the suggestion made by one of the previous speakers that immigration 
lowers the political morality of the country, Mr. Sulzberger quoted conditions existing 
in some of the rural communities where, despite the fact that the population was 
almost wholly native, a shocking condition was disclosed as to the very common 
purchase and sale of votes. 

Mr. Sulzberger said on the subject of assimilation that this was a difficult term 
to deflne. He beHeved that no better test of assimilation could be found than the 
extent to which the immigrants take advantage of having their children educated. 
Upon this subject he quoted the following figures: 

"We find by the census report (population, part 2, table 10, p. 106) the following 
percentage of illiteracy : 



Native Parents. 

of 
Native Whites 


Foreign Parents. 

of 

Native Whites 


5.7 
1.7 

12.0 
2.8 

11.6 


' 1.6 
1.5 
2.1 
1.3 
6.8 


3.4 


1.3 







'United States 

"North Atlantic . . , 
"South Atlantic . . 
"North Central . . 
"South Central ... 
"Western Division 



So that in every separate division the illiteracy is greater among native-born children 
of native parents than illiteracy among the native-born children of foreign parents."' 

From all the instances thus cited, industrially, politically and educationally, Mr. 
Sulzberger drew the inference that immigration has not the tendency to degrade any 
of our standards in these regards. 

In reference to the statement made by Dr. Laidlaw that 11 per cent, of the 
Russian immigrants into the United States in the past 50 years was now residing in 
the section south of 14th st. and east of 4th ave., Mr. Sulzberger called attention to 
the fact that what this meant was that a part equal to 11 per cent, of the total was. 
residing there, but not that 11 per cent, of each year's immigrants were there. 
What he desired to bring out was the fact that the population on the lower East Side 
was a continual shifting population, settling on the lower East Side immediately after 
arrival and moving away therefrom as soon as financial and social conditions war- 
ranted. People naturally sought in the first instance to associate with those people 
who spoke their own language, but, after they had been here a few years and 
succeeded in finding their bearings, they left that section and moved elsewhere. While 
there is continually a congested population on the lower East Side, it is not continually 
the same population, but different people who lived under these congested conditions 
for a comparatively short period of time. 

The moving of industry from the Borough of Manhattan to outlying boroughs 
will not of itself cure congestion, unless accompanied by restrictive legislation as tO' 
the height of buildings and the number of persons permitted to live in one room, as 



194 

otherwise new quarters and congestion will arise about the removed industries. In 
the Borough of Manhattan the height of buildings, both in offices and factories, and 
especially for factories, should be restricted, and the making of goods in tenement 
houses should be hampered in every way that the law will permit. 

The one promptly available remedy is adequate rapid transit. More bridges, more 
tunnels and more facilities for getting over the one and through the other will 
enable those people vv^ho are obliged to work in the Borough of Manhattan to get 
out of that borough into homes of their own. There has never been a time when 
the transportation facilities provided have not been overtaxed, showing a desire on 
the part of the people to get out of the congested sections far in excess of the 
facilities given them so to do. 

C. — Statement submitted by Mr. Morris D. Waldman, Secretary of the United 
Hebrew Charities. 

A representative of the Junior Order of Mechanics quoted from the 27th annual 
report of the United Hebrew Charities, in which increasing Jewish immigration was 
deplored because it increased the number of Jewish dependents in the city. Mr. 
Waldman stated that, though not connected with the organization at that time and 
not familiar with conditions confronting it, he believed that the strong language in 
which the report was couched was prompted by the desire to secure an increase in 
contributions. But, be that as it may, during the year in which the report was 
published, the applicants at the United Hebrew Charities numbered over 10,000, 
whereas during the current year just ending, the applicants numbered 8,000 (the actual 
figures are over 11,000 for 1901 and 9,000 for this year), in spite of the fact that the 
Jewish population of the city has doubled since that time, showing that the increase 
in the number of Jewish immigrants in The City of New York did not increase 
dependency among the Jews. 

Mr. Waldman called the attention of the Commission to sundry facts that were 
submitted last spring to the House Committee on Immigration at Washington by a 
committee of the American Jewish Committee, showing that, though illiteracy is 
more prevalent among Italian and Jewish immigrants and less prevalent among British 
and French immigrants, it was characteristic, in an inverse proportion, of prostitutes 
and procurers arriving at our shores. 

He took occasion to warn the Commission against accepting general statements 
as facts, illustrating the danger in the following way : 

"(a). A sweeping statement was made by one of the speakers to the effect that 
immigrants were filling our prisons and penitentiaries. Mr. Waldman again quoted 
from the testimony of the American Jewish Committee at Washington, showing that, 
though the alien population in this country of males 20 years of age and over, accord- 
ing to the last census reports, was 20 per cent, of the entire male population of the 
same ages, the number of male aliens in the prisons over 20 years of age was less than 
22 per cent. 

"(b). In reply to the general complaint that immigrants were forcing native 
workmen out of employment, he quoted his personal experience throughout the country, 
showing the demand for labor in the interior far in excess of the supply. He called 
attention of the Commission also to the fact that labor was so scarce, that one state, 
South Carolina, of its own accord and at it own expense imported about 500' immi- 
grants to its territory. 

"(c). In reply to the complaint that the immigrants in accepting lower wages 
were reducing the standard of living, he stated that he saw a large contingent of these 
immigrants gather before the office of the Commissioner of Labor and Immigration in 
South Carolina and complain bitterly that the wages offered to them were far below 
those which they had received in their native country. Further, he quoted from the 
testimony of the American Jewish Committee, showing that in the garment industries, 
which were practically entirely controlled and engaged in by our immigrant popula- 
tion, the per capita wage, both among males and females, was considerably in excess of 
the average wage in all industries." 

Mr. Waldman also expressed it as his belief that though there is congestion in 
this city, it is not in excess of what it was ten years ago; that figures of school regis- 
tration which he had secured from the Board of Education about a year ago showed 
the population in the most congested quarter of the city, namely, below Houston street 
and East of the Bowery, to be little higher than registration at the time of the con- 
solidation of the Boroughs into the City of New York in spite of the tremendous in- 
crease of population. He also called the attention of the Commission to the general 
distribution of Jewish population all over the greater city. 

His opinions that congestion among Jews on the lower East Side was caused by 
€ConDmic conditions; that most of the people, directly or indirectly, were dependent 



195 

upon the garment industries, and that these were situated within walking distance. So 
long as the wages were low, inaking the carfare and lunch money a serious item in 
the worker's weekly budget, and so long as the working hours were many, this condition 
of overcrowding would continue. 

He also stated that insufficient transportation facilities were a serious factor in 
preventing a larger distribution of the population, and that though there was direct 
relation between immigration and increase in population, he could see very little re- 
laction between immigration and congestion. 

Nationalities in Congested Areas and Blocks. 
The data regarding nationalities in congested areas and blocks has been compiled 
by Dr. Walter Laidlaw, Secretary of the Federation of Churches and Christian Organi- 
zations. The data regarding nationality in 1910 is not available, the last being for 1905. 
Irish and German, the leading foreign peoples of Manhattan in 1900, have been 
displaced by Russians and Italians. 

All four of these nationalities were in 100,000 class of -1905, and the Italians were 
the only group of the four having below 100,000 in the Borough of Manhattan in 1900. 
The following is the order of foreign nationalities in Manhattan in 1905 : 
Russian, practically 200,000: Italian, 155,000; Irish, 125,000; German, 115,000; Aus- 
trian, 80,000; Hungarian, 35,000; Poles, 25,000; Roumanian, 21,000; Bohemian, 10,000, 
with 33 other nationalities under 10,000. • 

The 122 blocks in Manhattan having in 1905 a density of over 750 people per acre 
have been especially counted, 65.7 per cent, of the 312,642 people in 1905 in blocks of 750 
per acre were foreign-born, and only 34.25 per cent. American-born. The foreign-born 
in Manhattan numbered, in 1905, 890,142, and 205,151 of them, or over 23 per cent., were 
domiciled in blocks having above 750 people per acre, while less than 9 per cent, of 
American-born were living under like conditions. 

Of the population in blocks of over 750 density Russian-born people supplied 30.15 
per cent, and American only 34.25 per cent., while the Austrians supplied 12.65 per cent. ; 
Italians, 9.60 per cent. ; Poles, 4.21 per cent. ; Roumanians, 3.24 per cent., and Hun- 
garians, 2,78 per cent. South of 14th street, in 1905, there were 155,828 Russian-born 
people. Of these, 93,802, or 62 per cent., were living in blocks having over 750 people 
per acre. 

Of the Poles and Austrians in Manhattan in 1905, over 50 per cent, were living 
in blocks of over 750 per acre. Between 45 per cent, and 50 per cent, of the Russians 
in Manhattan blocks, 34 per cent, of the Chinese, over 25 per cent, of the Hungarians, 
and less than 25 per cent, of the Italians were living in similar blocks. 

The foreign-born in Manhattan grew from 789,342 in 1900 to 890,142 in 1905, an 
increase of 100,800 out of the 262,287 increase of Manhattan in those five years. 

The population of Manhattan was 47.7 foreign-born in 1900, and, despite the sur- 
plus of birth-rate over death-rate, was still 42.2 per cent, foreign-born in 1905. 

The old Thirty-first Assembly District, running from 110th to 134th street and be- 
•tween Park and 8th avenues, was 3 per cent, more foreign in 1905 than in 190O. 

The Borough of The Bronx had 30.7 per cent, foreign-born in 1900, and 29.5 per 
cent, in 1905. 

The old Thirty-fifth Assembly District had proportionately more foreign-born 
in 1905 than in 1900, while the foreign-born population of the old Thirty-fourth As- 
sembly District fell off almost 3 per cent. 

South of 14th street, on the East Side, the native-born population, from 1900 to 
1905, increased only from 223,039 to 231,103, or in all 8,064 persons — less than 4 per 
cent., while the foreign-born increased 61,517 persons or very nearly 20 per cent. There 
were, therefore, many districts where the number of native-born in 1905 was actually 
less than in 1900. 

ItaHah Investigation. 
Block Bounded by Mott, Prince, Elizabeth and E. Houston Sts. — 367 Cases. 

Nationality and Provinces. Cases. 

Italian 367 

Province — 

Apulin 16 

Basilicata 23 

Calabria 2 

Latium 3 

Lombardy 1 

Venice 1 

Miscellaneous 16 

Campania 25 

Sicily 280 

367 



196 



Age. 

Number under 30 years of age 

Number under 40 years of age 

Number under 50 years of age 

Number over 50 years of age 



Man. Woman. 



Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 



families 
families 
families 
families 
families 
families 
families 
families 



Rent Per Room Per Month. 



paymg 
paying 
paying 
paying 
paying 
paymg 
paying 
paying 



$3.50 to $4.00 per 
$4.01 to $4.50 per 
$4.51 to $5.00 per 
$5.01 to $5.50 per 
$5.51 to $6.00 per 
$6.01 to $6.50 per 
$6.51 to $7.00 per 
$7.01 to $7.50 per 



room 
room 
room 
room 
room 
room 
room 
room 



per month, 
per month, 
per month, 
per month, 
per month, 
per month, 
per month, 
per month. 



26 

16 

75 

70 

166 

10 

1 

1 



Earnings. 



Man. Woman. Children. Family. 



Total 

Family 

Income. 



Under 200 .. 
200 to 250 . . 
251 to 300 .. 
301 to 350 .. 
351 to 4€0 .. 
401 to 450 .. 
501 to 550 .. 
551 to 600 .. 
601 to 650 .. 
651 to 700 .. 
701 to 750 .. 
751 to 800 .. 
801 to 850 .. 
851 to 900 .. 
901 to 950 .. 
951 to 1,000 . 
1,000 to 1,100 
1,100 to 1,200 
1,200 to 1,300 
1,300 to 1,400 
1,400 to 1,500 
1,500 to 1,600 
1,600 to 1,700 
1,700 to 1,800 
1,800 to 1,900 
Over 1,900 .. 



188 8 


3 


10 5 


1 


8 26 17 6 


1 


7 


3 17 2 


1 


14 


4 6 1 


1 


15 .11 51 6 


2 


50 


36 21 


16 


31 


12 7 


10 


51 


7 23 


21 


5 


.. 22 


19 


45 


28 


23 


24 


35 


36 


1 


11 


24 


4 


28 


21 


28 . 


21 


27 


1 


8 


11 


17 


43 


48 




.. ' 25 


22 


4 


14 


17 




12 


14 




10 


11 


3 


5 


5 




5 


5 




4 


4 




5 


5 




12 


12 



Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 
Number of 



men 
men 
men 
men 
men 
men 
men 
men 
men 



Per Cent. Spent on Rent. 

Percentage of Man's Earnings. 

spending under 10 per cent, of their earnings for rent, 
spending 10 to 15 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 15 to 20 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 20 to 25 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 25 to 30 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 30 to 35 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 35 to 40 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 40 to 45 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 
spending 45 to 50 per cent, of their earnings for rent. . 



4 

7 

25 
55 
70 
60 
54 
28 
14 



197 < 

Number of men spending 50 to 55 per cent, of their earnings for rent 7 

Number of men spending 55 to 60 per cent, of their earnings for rent 3 

Number of men spending 60 to 65 per cent, of their earnings for rent 3 

Number of men spending 65 to 70 per cent, of their earnings for rent 3 

Number of men spending 70 to 75 per cent, of their earnings for rent 3 

Number of men spending 75 to 80 per cent, of their earnings for rent 3 

Number of men spending 80 to 85 per cent, of their earnings for rent 1 

Number of men spending 85 to 90 per cent, of their earnings for rent 

Number of men spending over 90 per cent, of their earnings for rent 1 

Percentage of FamiHes' Earnings. 

Number of families spending under 10 per cent, of total income for rent 20 

Number of families spending 10 to 15 per cent, of total income for rent ; . 47 

Number of families spending 15 to 20 per cent, of total income for rent 91 

Number of families spending 20 to 25 per cent, of total income for rent 97 

Number of families spending 25 to 30 per cent, of total income for rent 50 

Number of families spending 30 to 35 per cent, of total income for rent 30 

Number of families spending 35 to 40 per cent, of total income for rent 13 

Number of families spending 40 to 45 per cent, of total income for rent. 6 

Number of families spending 45 to 50 per cent, of total income for rent 5 

Number of families spending 50 to 55 per cent, of total income for rent 

Number of families spending 55 to 60 per cent, of total income for rent 1 

Number of families spending 60 to 65 per cent, of total income for rent 1 

Number of families spending 65 to 90' per cent, of total income for rent 0' 

Number of families spending over 90 per cent, of total income for rent 2 

Crow^ding of Rooms. 

Number of rooms in which 2 adults sleep 319 

Number of rooms in virhich 2^ adults sleep 45 

Number of rooms in virhich 3 adults sleep 23 

Number of rooms in which 3^ adults sleep 10 

Number of rooms in which 4 adults sleep 8 

Per Cent. Spent on Rent. 
Percentage of Man's Earnings. 

Number of men spending under 10 per cent, of their earnings for rent 

Number of men spending 10 to 15 per cent, of their earnings for rent 7 

Number of men spending 15 to 20 per cent, of their earnings for rent 24 

Number of men spending 20 to 25 per cent, of their earnings for rent 78 

Number of men spending 25 to 30 per cent, of their earnings for rent S3 

Number of men spending 30 to 35 per cent, of their earnings for rent 6 

Number of men spending 35 to 40 per cent, of their earnings for rent 4 

Number of men spending 40 to 45 per cent, of their earnings for rent 2 



Number of families spending under 10 per cent, of their total income for rent. . . 

Number of families spending 10 to 15 per cent, of their total income for fent 15 

Number of families spending 15 to 20 per cent, of their total income for rent. ... 32 

Number of families spending 20 to 25 per cent, of their total income for rent 81 

Number of families spending 25 to 30 per cent, of their total income for rent 36 

Number of families spending 30 to 35 per cent, of their total income for rent 8 

172 

Crowding of Rooms. 

Number of rooms in which 2 adults sleep 71 

Number of rooms in which 2^ adults sleep 47 

Number of rooms in which 3 adults sleep 61 

Number of rooms in which 3^ adults sleep 28 

Number of rooms in which 4 adults sleep 42 

Number of rooms in which 4^ adults sleep 5 

Number of rooms in which 5 adults sleep 1 



198 



Time in the United States. 

Men. Women. 

Number who have lived in United States 1 year or less • . . 1 

Number who have lived in United States from 1 to 3 years 26 18 

Number who have lived in United States from 3 to 5 years 33 38 

Number who have lived in United States from 5 to 8 years 37 53 

Number who have lived in United States from 8 to 10 years 22 21 

Number who have lived in United States from 10 to IS years 25 21 

Number who have lived in United States from 15 to 20 years 15 9 

Number who have lived in United States over 20 years 3 1 

Literacy of Family. 

Number of men who cannot speak English 148 

Number of women who cannot speak English ' 158 

Not given : Men, 22 ; women, 23. 

Size of Family. 

Number of families consisting of 2 persons 1 

Number of families consisting of 3 persons 9 

Number of families consisting of 4 persons 41 

Number of families consisting of 5 persons 52 

Number of families consisting of 6 persons 31 

Number of families consisting of 7 persons ■ 13 

Number of families consisting of 8 persons 9 

Number of families consisting of 9 persons 4 

Number of families consisting of 10 persons 1 

Number of families consisting of 11 persons 1 

Occupation of Men. 

Laborers 128 

Barbers 10 

Pedlers 8 

Drivers 5 

Store 3 

Bootblacks 2 

Shoemakers 1 

Builders 1 

Occupation of Women. 

Sewing 2 

Bakery 1 

Occupation of Children. 

Shop-work 69 

Sewing 1 

Number of Children Working. 

Number of families having 1 child 35 

Number of families having 2 children , 14 

Number of families having 3 children 8 

Time in the United States. 

Men. Women. 

Number who have lived in the United States 1 year, or less 

Number who have lived in the United States 1 to 3 years 2 3 

Number who have lived in the United States 3 to 5 years 18 19 

Number who have lived in the United States 5 to 8 years 65 65 

Number who have lived in the United States 8 to 10 years 120 123 

Number who have lived in the United States 10 to 15 years 107 108 

Number who have lived in the United States IS to 20 years 41 40 

Number who have lived in the United States over 20 years ,9 9 

Literacy of Family. 

Number of men who cannot read or write English 291 

Number of women who cannot read or write English 107 

Size of Family. 

Number of families consisting of 2 persons , , , 31 

Number of families consisting of 3 persons 71 

Number of families consisting of 4 persons 124 

Number of families consisting of 5 persons 86 



199 

Size of Family. 

Number of families consisting of 6 persons "^^ 

Number of families consisting of 7 persons ^' 

Number of families consisting of 8 persons ^ 

Number of families consisting of 9 persons ^ 

Number of families consisting of 10 persons J 

Number of families consisting of 11 persons • 

Occupation of Men. 

Banker i j 

Barbers - " " * g 

Bootblacks i^) 

Blacksmiths oH 

Builder (Bricklayer) ''g 

Cafe g 

Carpenter j 

Doctor g 

Factory ^2 

Hod-Carrier 2 

Importer • rn 

Laborer ■, 

Lawyer " j 

Mechanic • j 

Miner 4 

Musician 2 

Operator ■, 

Plumber 22 

Painter 90 

Pedler (Stand) J2 

Shoemaker hq 

Store AQ 

Tailor ^ 

Teacher ■, 

Watchman ,g 

Not working 

Occupation of Women. 

No occupation j j 

Finisher 231 

Dressmaker 

Occupation of Children. 

Bootblack . . . . .^ c 

Butcher ; ' 2 

Carpenter '' e 

Clerk i 

Conductor ■, 

Detective , 

Dressmaker ^c 

Doctor eg 

Factory e 

Laborer 2 

Mechanic , 

Musician . 

Printer ^ 

Store -1 

Tailor 2 

Newsboy or Girl 2? 

Finisher 1 ^ 

Barber ^? 

Painter 

Number of Families Having Children Working. 

Number of families 1 child working ^7 

Number of families 2 children workmg ^^ 

Number of families 3 children working l;^ 

Number of families 4 children working j^ 

Number of families 5 children working Y 

Number of families 6 children working -^ 



200 



Scattered Cases, February to March, 1908. 
174 Cases. 

Number of families living on first floor 

Number of families living on second floor 

Number of families living on third floor 

Number of families living on fourth floor 

Number of families living on fifth floor 

Number of families living in basement ." 



33 
47 

55 

13 

7 



Italian . . . 
Province — 
Campania 
Basilicata 
Calabria . . 
Abruzzo . 
Sicily . . . . 
Latium . . 



Nationality and Province. 



164 

174 

70 

61 

11 

9 

6 

1 



Number under 30 years of age. 
Number under 40 years of age. 
Number under 50 years of age. 
Number over 50 years of age. 



Age. 



Rent Per Room Per Month. 
Number of families paying $2.50 to $3.00 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $3.00 to $3.50 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $3.50 to $4.00 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $4.00 to $4.50 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $4.50 to $5.00 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $5.00i to $5.50 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $5.50 to 5)6.00 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $6.00 to $6.50 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $6.50 to $7.00 per room per month. 
Number of families paying $7.00 to $7.50 per room per month. 

Number of Rooms Per Flat. 

1 room apartment 

2 room apartment 

3 room apartment 

4 room apartment 

5 room apartment 



Man. 
46 

38 
20 

171 



158 
Woman. 
60 

36 
12 



Earnings. 



Man. Woman. Children. 



171 



2 

26 

Z6 

46 

41 

11 

3 

6 

2 

1 

32 
60 
51 
26 

5 



174 



Total 
Family. Family 
Income. 



Under 200 
200 to 250 
250 to 300 
300 to 350 
350 to 400 
400 to 450 
450 to 500 
500 to 550 
550 to 600 
600 to 650 
650 to 700 
700 to 750 
750 to 800 
8(X) to 850 
850 to 900 
900 to 950 
950 



31 

42 

38 

14 

23 

16 

2 

1 

2 



14 




32 5 




18 26 


9 




4 28 


19 




1 44 


29 




33 


35 




16 


49 




7 


16 




2 


6 




2 


2 




3 


2 




4 


3 




2 


2 




1 


1 



201 

A. Money Value of Immigrants. 

The actual amount of money brought by immigrants is not known, since many of 
them send money ahead through bankers, many have money sent to them by their 
friends, and some bring much more than they show at the port of arrival. Mr. Hall 
assumes that an average immigration of 600,000 per year for a series of years, 200,000 
came as prepaid, i. e., had their passage prepaid. Mr. Hall states : 

"The Italians in New York City are said to hold $60,OGO,000 worth of property, 
of which $15,000,000 is in savings bank deposits and those in St. Louis, San Francisco, 
Boston and Chicago are reported to have even larger amounts. These figures give 
some idea of the additions to the wealth of the community made by the new corners 
to our shores ; and constitute a hopeful sign for the future. The sacrifice 
of comfort, health and decency involved in the production of this wealth, however, 
should never be forgotten, and the effects of such a sacrifice must be paid for by the 
community in many forms." 

B. Occupations of Immigrants. 

"Thus the percentages of immigrants having no occupation, including women and 
children, since 1894, has been as follows : 

1895 - 36 

1896 36 

1897 39 

1898 39.4 

1899 35.1 

1900 30. 1 

1901 30 . 5 

1902 23.4 

1903 23.3 

1904 26.4 

1905 32.6 

"The percentage of immigrants who were farm laborers, laborers or servants for 
the same years was as follows : 

1895 42 

1896 46 

1897 40 

1898 40.3 

1899 47.3 

1900 53 

1901 53 . 1 

1902 60.6 

1903 57.3 

1904 49.4 

1905 54. 1 

"Combining the two foregoing tables, it appears that the proportion of immigrants 
practically without knowledge of a trade or means of livelihood has remained nearly 
constant for the last decade, and is about four-fifths of the total arrivals." 

Proposed Legislation. 

The raising of the present tax of $2 to $10.50 or $100 which would doubtless 
consider.ably diminish immigration. This would bear heavily on the man with a family 
and there must be some exception of wives and children. 

The money test would tend to restrict immigration, but this would be to some ex- 
tent evaded. 

B. Physical Test. 

The present laws exclude all who are mentally diseased in such a way as to be a 
burden on the community, i. e., the insane idiots and persons who have been insane 
within a few years and on the physical side those with dangerous or loathsome or con- 
tagious diseases. Persons of poor physique are with few exceptions most likely to 
become a burden upon the community. 

"It has been suggested that pending any radical action by Congress, or any con- 
struction by the department of section 10, which would accomplish the same purpose, 
there should be a rule requiring the commissioner of immigration in charge at a port 
where a physically defective alien is landed, to notify in writing the officials of the 
municipality in which such alien intends to reside, that he has been admitted, giving 
sufficient information to identify him. If, subsequently, he becomes a public charge the 
chain of evidence necessary to secure his deportation will then be complete." 



202 

C. Illiteracy Test. 

This has been the favorite method advocated to restrict immigration. 

In 1895 Senator Lodge introduced a bill prepared by the Immigration Restriction 
League known as the "Lodge Bill," which added to the excluded classes "All persons 
between fourteen and sixty j'ears of age who cannot both read and write the English 
language or some other language." This was amended in 1896 by a bill excluding 
illiterates over fourteen years of age with an exemption in the case of aged parents or 
grandparents of admissible or resident immigrants. This was further amended by 
requiring that immigrants should read or write English or the language of their native 
or resident country, and vetoed by President Cleveland. It has been objected that 
this would exclude many sturdy though ignorant immigrants and keep out domestic 
servants. 

D. Consular Inspection. 

This plan contemplates the examination of each alien at the port of embarkation 
by American consular officers, and may be either voluntary or involuntary on the part 
of the alien. This general plan has been advocated since 1885, and this was the most 
popular plan for further restriction until the educational test was brought forward. An 
alien is to file a passport of recent date from his native government and swear to an 
application stating the reason of his desire to migrate, his trade, age, state of health 
and statement of property. The consul is to confirm these statements by investigating 
as far as possible and to hold a duly advertised public hearing on the application. If 
the applicant were found to be a fit subject for citizenship in the United States the 
consul should, on payment by the applicant of $20, issue to him a permit enabling him to 
sail within four months ; if found unfit, the permit was to be refused. 

Mr. Hall mentions seven objections to the system of consular inspection. 

(1) It would necessitate a large increase in the consular force and consequent 
expense. Not very long ago there were only three consuls of the United States in 
the whole of Russia. Considering its size, it is apparent that it would be absolutely 
impossible to supervise emigration from such a country, or indeed from any European 
country, without a very large increase in the consular force, and that unless the con- 
suls were widely scattered none of them would be near enough the emigrant's place of 
residence to have any special facility in obtaining information about him. 

(2) The consuls themselves would not have, in addition to their other duties, the 
time to examine the large number embarking at once, and the result would practically 
be that the inspection would be done by clerks, probably natives, who would generally 
sympathize with the emigrants and in any case, it would be less efficient and respon- 
sible and more open to corruption than that of inspectors at the ports of the United 
States. 

(3) If the certificate is to be conclusive, the elaborate machinery for inspection at 
American ports must still be maintained in order to detect and deport those arriving 
without proper certificates ; yet these will be so few in comparison with the whole num- 
ber that most of this enormously expensive plant would be rendered useless. 

(4) Consular inspection as such does not add to the excluded classes, and there- 
fore does not meet the most serious defect in the present law, namely, its failure to ex- 
clude paupers, diseased persons and objectionable aliens. 

(5) It does not draw any line of exclusion more definite than the existing law, 
but, as above suggested, it vests an enormous discretion in officials far removed from 
oversight and control. 

(6) Consular inspection must either be public or secret. The foreign govern- 
ments could not tolerate the introduction of secret extra-territorial courts such as 

' these consular offices would be. But if consular inspection were public the foreign 
governments would use every effort to keep at home strong and healthy citizens fit 
for military service, and to assist in the emigration of those members of the com- 
munity whom they desired to be rid of. 

(7) It is a fallacious assumption that consuls are in most cases any better able to 
ascertain the truth of the immigrant's statements than inspectors at our ports. 

E. Other Methods. 

(1) Total suspension for one year or a stated period. 

(2) Exclusion of certain races 

(3) Limitation of numbers. 

(4) Additions to the excluded classes. 

(a) Socialists. 

(b) All immigrants or at least all manual laborers who do not at once declare 
their intention to become citizens. 

(c) Persons of bad character. 

(d) Birds of passage. 



203 

(e) Persons without families. 

(f) Aged persons. 

Other suggestions are the mental test (as opposed to merely a literary test) ex- 
tending the period of deportation. 

G. Administrative Amendments. 

Co-operation of all officials. 

Limiting the privilege of assisting immigrants. 

Bonding persons likely to become public charges. 

Other Matters — The present inspection of immigrants is often very superficial 
owing to the small amount of time available. More inspectors and rnore accommo- 
dations for inspection also are needed to perfect the work of examination, and tO' 
test the truthfulness of statements as to occupation, destination and other matters. A 
more thorough inspection would undoubtedly result in the discovery of more frauds 
practiced by immigrants similar to those in 1902-3, when it was found that large num- 
bers of addresses in New York City of friends or relatives, to whom the aUens repre- 
sented they were going, were entirely fictitious. The manifests should be altered so as to 
show the actual amount of money brought. It is also desirable that steps be taken 
to obtain statistics of emigration. Landing certificates should be given to immigrants, 
and the production of them required for naturalization. The sale of tickets by un- 
authorized agents of steamship companies should be forbidden and thus the whole 
matter be made subject to the United States regulations. 

Other Proposed Remedies for Immtgr.a.tion Evils. 

A. Distribution of Immigrants. 

To scatter city slum populations and recent arrivals, in the face of the present 
movement toward the cities, on a scale large enough to be at all effective, would re- 
qiure vast sums of money. Moreover, a distribution which simply moves large numbers- 
to other localities, where they tend to form the same sort of communities, is not really 
a solution of the problem, a problem which is in substance to change them into thrifty 
and intelligent settlers, whose homes shall be the centres of family life and civic in- 
terest. To be really effective, thousands of families should be removed from the 
slums of New York, Chicago, Boston and other cities every year, and the incoming of 
two or three times as many families of newer immigrants of the same standard_ of 
living should be prevented. Although there is no doubt that distribution is a most im- 
portant and necessary work, yet the success thus far attained is not very encouraging. 
The Hebrew Industrial Removal Ofiice in New York City sent out 5,525 immigrants 
settled in the City. During the first three years of its existence the society sent out 
a total of 10,563 persons, and it is evident that its work must be increased manyfold to 
cope with the present situation. The Italian societies in New York and Boston have 
also interested themselves in the matter of colonizing immigrants, and the governments 
of Austria and Italy have lent a helping hand to these movements ; but, up to the 
present time, but little has been accomplished. 

The principal difficulty with the distribution scheme is that, in so far as it in- 
volves the immigrant taking up agricultural pursuits, most of our modern immigrants 
are not fitted for such work. Long residence in the ghettos of Europe has unfitted 
most of the Jews to be independent farmers. So with the Syrians and Armenians, 
who. like most of our recent immigrants, are too ignorant to make a success of farm- 
ing life. 

Furthermore, in order tc effect a satisfactory distribution, immigrants must be 
needed and desired by the district into which it is proposed to send them. The United 
States Immigration Investigation Commission in 1895 and the Immigration Restriction 
League in 1^4 made inquiries of the officials of the several states as to their desires 
and needs in the matter. The results of these two sets of inquiries were substantially 
the same and disclosed the fact that the only demand on the part of any locality for 
recent immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, was for Italian farmers with 
families and with capital, intending permanent settlement. The races chiefly desired 
were native Americans, British, Germans, Scandinavians, French and Swiss. In every 
case in the recent canvass, the officials objected in the strongest^ terms to any plan for 
."^hipping immigrants from the slums of eastern cities into their respective localities. 
On the contrary, many of the States prefer immigrants from other sections of the 
country who have resided in the United States for some time and are familiar with 
American customs, or else the kindred races of Northern Europe with whom we are al- 
ready familiar. 

in the South, industrial competition, combined with the inefficiency of the negro 
and the movement toward the cities above noted, has created a certain demand for 
foreign labor for the fields. Thus we read that the Italian ambassador has_ recently 
been attempting to establish Italian immigration centers in Texas, Louisiana and 



204 

'Georgia, with a view to inducing the agricultural element of Italy to settle the vexing 
problem of southern working fields. It is significantly stated in the same despatch that 
the movement will be financed entirely by New York capital. 

t^The statement of actual distribution of immigration shows how little has been 
accomplished by this to date.) 

Protective and Assimilating Movements. 
Organizations such as the Hebrew, German, Italian and other societies for look- 
ing after their fellow countrymen have been organized in many cities. 

Ethical Aspects of Regulation. 

We can sympathize with Prof. Mayo-Smith when he says : 

"The control of immigration must be free from the base cry of 'America for 
the Americans,' and from any narrow spirit of trade unionism, or of a selfish desire 
to monopolize the labor market. It must find its justification in the needs of the 
■community, and in the necessity of selecting those elements which will contribute to 
the harmonious development of our civilization." (Conclusion of digest of Mr. Hall's 
Book, Immigration.) 

Statements and arguments of the National Liberal Immigration League, 150 
Nassau street. New York : 

The division of information in the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. 
''The maintenance of this national distribution is of first importance, for it is true 
that the problem of immigration is nothing more nor less than the problem of dis- 
tribution. If properly encouraged the distribution bureau will equalize the tide of im- 
migration and help the unemployed, diminishing congestion here, and providing de- 
sirable labor there, all over the land; and it were very regretable to have it nipped in 
the bud. EDWARD LAUTERBACH, President." 

The League summarizes the Hayes bill explained later as follows : 
Many bills providing for the regulation of immigration have been introduced in 
Congress during the present session (1909 and 1910). Restriction is the avowed ob- 
jection of several of them, while the actual purpose of nearly all is not merely to 
check, but to stop immigration. First in order among these is the Hayes Bill, to 
whose drastic and un-American measures we call your attention : 

1. $10 Head Tax, instead of $4. This has no conceivable object but that of 
checking immigration. The head tax was originally imposed to defray the expenses 
of the immigration service — its only legitimate purpose. The $2 head tax in force 
July, 1907, not only accomplished this, but yielded a considerable surplus to the United 
States Treasury. 

2. Educational Test.— For the great constructive works of the nation and for 
the lower forms of manual labor we need a large number of immigrants. Ability to 
read and write, is a reasonable qualification for citizenship, but it does not Increase 
a man's fitness for manual labor. Neither is it a guarantee of morals, the police re- 
ports of New York showing that only 2.6 per cent, of those arrested are unable to read 
and write. The immigrants, illiterate as well as those who can read and write, appre- 
ciate an education so highly that the native white of foreign parentage show but 1.6 
per cent, of illiteracy, as against the 5.7 per cent, of children of native whites. We 
need fear nothing from their ignorance. The thing above all others that we seriously 
■need is a means of keeping out of our country the bomb-throwing anarchist, the black- 
mailer, the counterfeiter, the forger, who can read and write too well. 

3. Exclusion of aliens who do not possess $25. — Any financial test is un-American. 
Had such a restriction been applied in the past, our nation would not now be among the 
greatest of the earth. The financial test would keep away thousands of deserving 
men whose labor is needed for digging our subways, working our mines, and building 
our railroads, and women who are needed for domestic service. But it can always be 
met with ease by the really undesirable immigrant — the criminal. 

4. Exclusion of aliens who do not bring a certificate of good character. — This 
can only tend to make us the dupes of extortionate, petty officials of certain countries. 
Through bribery, criminals could often secure certificates more easily than honest 
laborers. Obviously, this provision would defeat its own end with a vengeance. 

5. Repeal of sections 26 and 40 of the Immigration Act now in force. 
Section 26 provides for the admission under bond of certain aliens otherwise 

liable to deportation because they seem likely to become public charges. Section 40 
provides for the establishment of a Division of Information in the Bureau of Immi- 
gration and Naturalization, "to promote a beneficial distribution of aliens * * * 
:among the several states and territories desiring immigration. Both these sectiohs have 
proved of benefit to the country. 

The condemnation of the Federal Grovernment's effort to distribute immigrants 



205 

and unemployed, is in line with the policy that persecuted the Irish and Germans^ 
instead of welcoming them by stretching out a helping hand. 

6. Exclusion of girls under twenty unaccompanied by parents. — The enactment of 
such a provision would debar many worthy young women needed for domestic service. 
It could not possibly prevent the entrance into the United States of young women 
coming for immoral purposes. 

7. Requirement that within one year after the enactment of the bill every unnat- 
uralized alien in the United States take out a certificate of residence containing descrip- 
tion and photograph of holder, on penalty of being deported. — This measure is as 
superfluous as it is degrading, resembling as it does the ticketing and photographing 
of a criminal. It is a thing unknown even to the despotisms of Europe, and is contrary 
to the spirit of American democracy and equality. 

It summarizes and condemns the above provisions of the Hayes Bill to say that 
they would close our door to many thousands of honest, simple, law-abiding immi- 
grants, such as have helped to build up our country; while there is not a single measure 
in this whole bill, which prevents the entrance of the criminal, who can afford to pay 
any tax, make show of any amotint of money, exhibit any certificate, and pass any edu- 
cational test. 

The League endorses the following statement of principles bv former President 
Charles W. Eliot : _ _ 

"I beg leave to invite your attention to the following statement of the principles 
which should govern National Legislation on Immigration : 

"First. Our country needs the labor of every honest and healthy 'immigrant' who 
has intelligence and enterprise to come here. 

"Second. Existing legislation is sufficient to exclude undesirable immigrants. 

"Third. Educational tests should not be applied at the moment of entrance to the 
United States, but at the moment of naturalization. 

"Fourth. The proper educational test is capacity to read in English or in the native 
tongue, not the Bible or the Constitution of the United States, but newspaper items m 
some recent English or native newspaper which the candidates cannot have seen. 

"Fifth. The attitude of Congress and the laws should be hospitable and not re- 
pellant. The only questions which are appropriate are : Is he healthy, strong and 
desirous of earning a good living? Many illiterates have common sense, sound bodies,, 
and good characters. Indeed it is not clear that education increases much the amount 
of common sense which nature gave the individual. An educational test is appropriate 
at the time when the foreigner proposes to become a voting citizen. He ought then to 
know how to read. Very truly yours, CHARLES W. ELIOT." 

The motto of the League is, "A stream that is dangerous when unchecked will 
prove a blessing to the land when well directed." 

To secure such distribution they advocate an appeal on behalf of free transpor- 
tation. 

While our congested eastern cities are overrun with thousands of sturdy laborers 
without employment and often without bread, a need for these same laborers is felt in 
other parts. There is a Bureau of Information in Washington which can furnish 
to almost every one of the unemployed the names of several firms where their work 
is needed. Were they to go to such localities it would be a benefit both to them and 
to their employers, but they lack the means to pay the traveling expenses, and gen- 
erally are suspicious of any offers of employers to advance these expenses on their 
wages. 

If the Bureau of Information could give to unemployed laborers transportation to 
where their labor is in demand, thousands of them would be saved from want, and 
they would, on the other hand, benefit the country through their labor. 

Immigrants arriving here could also be directed where they have relatives or 
where their labor is needed, but they cannot afford to pay the cost of transportation to 
those localities. 

Free transportation will greatly contribute to the solution of this problem. The 
Argentine Republic furnishes immigrants with one week's hospitality and with free 
railroad transportation to any part of that country. Other South American govern- 
ments offer similar inducements. What such republics, with their scanty means, are 
doing our country, the wealthiest in the world, can certainly accomplish. The burden 
which such a provision would entail upon the Federal treasury would be more than 
compensated by the benefit which it would bring about. 

NATIONAL LIBERAL IMMIGRATION LEAGUE. 



206 

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND WAGES OF THE NEW 

YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF POPULATION, 

MR. JOHN J. FLYNN, CHAIRMAN. 

The Committee have held seven meetings separately or in conjunction with the 
•Committee on Factories. They have examined more than thirty persons and studied 
numerous reports on the subject of the city, the State and the Federal Government 
as well as of private organizations. 

The low wages paid in the city and the unhealthy conditions in factories and 
workshops have been emphasized in several of the meetings of the Committee as 
well as at the general hearing of the Commission, as important causes of congestion 
and room overcrowding in the city. 

The Committee beg therefore to make the following recommendations and to 
ask that the Comrnittee on Legislation be requested to prepare bills embodying these 
recommendations if necessary. 

A Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York City. 

The preponderance of factories of the State in New York City indicates the 
necessity of having a Deputy Commissioner of Labor for New York City, who shall 
devote all his time to the direction and supervision of the Department's work in the 
city. 

More Factory Inspectors and Appropriate Legislation to Enable the State De- 
partment TO Enforce Its Regulations. 
The present number of factory inspectors in the city is inadequate, the permanent 
force being only 35, while during the winter inspectors from up-State are brought 
down, making the average for the city 40. During the year ended September 30, 1909, 
28,952 visits of inspection of factories were made in New York City, only 838 more 
visits than the total number of factories in the city. Many of these factories should 
be visited at least every quarter, and some monthly. It is therefore suggested that 
the_ number of factory inspectors to be permanently located in New York City should 
be increased to an adequate number, and appropriate legislation should be enacted to 
■enable the Department of Labor to enforce its regulations. 

An Industrial Commission for New York City. 

The large number of strikes in the city among organized labor— unskilled and 
semi-skilled, and_ the well know^n fact that many unskilled and unorganized manual 
laborers in the city do not receive sufficient wages to enable them to maintain them- 
selves, indicate the need for a body to devote its entire time to the labor interests of 
the city. 

An investigation has been made as to the current rate of wages in different 
trades and occupations in the city, and although these do not cover all trades they 
are indicative of the rate of wages being paid and the maximum income of laborers 
in the city for the year. The City Comptroller has furnished figures as to the pre- 
vailing rate of wages paid in the following city departments : Bellevue and Allied 
Hospitals, Department of Bridges, Brooklyn Disciplinary Training Schools, Board of 
Water Supply, College of the City of New York, Department of Corrections, Depart- 
rnent of Public Charities, Department of Docks and Ferries, Departmerit of Educa- 
tion, Finance Department, Fire Department, Health Department, National Guard, 
Parks, Presidents of the Borough of Manhattan, Borough of The Bronx, Borough 
of Brooklyn, Borough of Queens, Borough of Richmond, Police Department, Street 
Cleaning Department, Water Supply, Gas and Electricity, Taxes and Assessment, 
Courts, County Clerk's Office. In these there were four persons receiving under 
$600.00. four receiving $699.00, 16 receiving from $700.00 to $799.00, 16 from $800.00 
to 899.00. 37 from $900.00 to $1,000.00, 358 over $1,000.00, and the prevailing rate of 
wages per day were given in 13 cases as $2.00 to $2.50, 703 cases $2.50 to $3.00 per 
day, 602 receiving $3.00 to $3.50, 755 receiving $3.50 to $4.00, 816 4.00 to 4.50, 509, $4.50 
to $5.00, 43 cases over $5.00. These figures of course are only indicative of the 
range of wages paid, and do not take account of the number of days employment 
during the year, when men are hired only by the day. 

The Treasury Department of the United States reports the wages paid in the 
following departments, Assistant Custodian and Janitor Service, Public Building 
Service, Sub-Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, and Assay Office, and in these de- 
partments there were 148 receiving less than $600.00 per year, 45 receiving $600.00 to 
$699.00, 158 receiving $700.00 to $799.00, 9 receiving $800.00 to $899.00, 27 receiving 
$900.00 to $1,000.00, and 71 over $1,000.00. There were 13 receiving under $2.00 per 
day, 42 from $2.50 to $3.00 per day, 3 from $2.50 to $3.00 per dav, 13 from $3.00 to $3.50 
per day, 3 from $3.50 to $4.00 per day, 10 from $4.00 to $4.50, 9 from $450 to $5.00, 
and 4 over $5.00 per day. 



207 

In the United States Post Office Department, there were 721 clerks, carriers, 
watchmen, messengers and laborers paid 600.00 per year, 186 messengers, watchmen 
and laborers receiving $700.00 per year; 413 clerks and carriers receiving $800.00 per 
year, 629 receiving $900.00 per year, 850 receiving $1,000 a year, 869 receiving $1,100.00 
per year, 3,183 receiving $1,200.00 The salaries of the others ranged up to $3,200.00. 
■ The Metropolitan Street Railway Company report several ranges of wages paid. 
To 138 watchmen, janitors and flagmen $547.50 to $821.25, working 365 days in the 
year. The weekly wages of stable men and hill boys range from $8.75 to $30.00, and 
of 1,858 conductors the range varies from $16.10 to $18.20, while 157 conductors on 
horse cars receive $14.00 per week or $730.00 for the year, and the same wages are 
paid to 158 drivers on horse cars. The lowest wages paid are 57.7 cents per day to 
clerks, messenger boys, office boys, etc., 417 laborers are paid from $1.50 to $2.75 per 
day. Plumbers' helpers receive from $1.00 to $1.75. The wages of most unskilled 
workers range from $1.00 to $1.75. The wages of most unskilled workers range 
from $1.00 to $2.50 per day. 

The Secretary of the International Association of Machinists, Mr. Jas. B. Wilson, 
states that the annual wages in normal times of the 4,000 members of the union are 
only $600.00 to $800.00 a year, while the non-union machinist get from $1.50 to $2.50 
per day. Unskilled wage earners get what they can, "catch as catch can," wages 
runmng from 19 cents per hour to as low as $8.00 to $10 per week, i. e., only $416.00 
to $520.00 a year at most. In one of the boroughs, laborers in this city's employ are 
paid $2.28 a day, and the average time they work is about 245 days a year, so they 
receive only $558.60 a year. 

In 1905 the average wages of 

339,221 factory wage earners in Manhattan and The Bronx were $536 76 

104,995 factory wage earners in Brooklyn were 519 42 

14,905 factory wage earners in Queens were 566 28 

5,595 factory wage earners in Richmond were 549 21 

While the Committee have not been able to make any statistical investigation of 
the wages paid unskilled men, especially when unorganized, it is well known that the 
current wages for their labor is only $1.50 to $3.00 per day, with often only tem- 
porary employment. 

The wages paid women are notably insufficient. Many department stores pay as 
low as $5 per week, while the wages of girls in factories will run to a minimum of 
$3.50 and from that up to a maximum of $10 to $12 per week counting the average for 
the entire year. In the judgment of the Committee, the living wage should be such as 
to support the wage-earner and his family not only for the six, eight or ten months 
of the year during which he has work, but for the twelve months during which the 
family must live. 

The contractor^ lor the City on the Catskill Aqueduct report the wages of from 
$1.25 to $2 per day. They note, however, that there are two prevailing rate of wages : 
first, those paid to the natives, and second, those paid to immigrants or aliens, and that 
the wages paid to immigrants or aliens are almost always lower than those paid to 
natives, while the tendency is always to reduce the rate of wages for immigrants. 

The Committee appreciate the work of the Bureau of Mediation and Arbitration 
of the State Department of Labor, but. feel that in view of the large number of laborers 
in the city an Industrial Commission should be created for New York City. 

From September, 1909, and including May, 1910, the State Bureau of Mediation 
and Arbitration intervened in 44 strikes or lockouts in New York City. Fifteen of 
these, one-third, occasioned an aggregate loss of 1,036,039 days, or 3,453^ years (count- 
ing 300 working days to a year). This materially offsets New York's increase in popu- 
lation. Counting each day's wage as $2, this means a total loss for nine months of 
$2,072,078, exclusive of employers' losses and the public's loss. Among the trades 
represented in these strikes were shirtwaist makers, pants makers, pie bakers, steam- 
fitters and helpers, and butchers. 

Some Money Costs of the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike. 

Cost to the Union $84,877 84 

Znjll^ days' work lost to March 1, 1910, at $1.25 per day 472,222 50 

Minimum loss to employers (estimated) 250,000 00 

$807,100 34 

It is clear that some agency is needed to help secure living wages without recourse 
to strikes. This could be achieved by the creation of an Industrial Commission in the 
City of New York, and a precedent for the proposed enlargement of jurisdiction over 
industrial disputes and conditions of labor is to be found in the Industrial Disputes 



208 

Investigation Act of Canada, passed in 1907, although the object of that act is to aid 
in the presence of strikes and lockouts in the case only of mines and industries con- 
nected with public utilities. 

This Industrial Court should consist of three men to be appointed by the Mayor. 

One to be nominated by the employers' association of the City. 

One to be nominated by the labor unions of the city. 

One to be selected by the Mayor. 

The duties of such an Industrial Commission in New York City should be : 

(a) To investigate labor conditions and wages paid both skilled and unskilled 
workers of every class in the city whether organized or not. 

(b) To investigate disputes when strikes or lockouts are threatened and after 
they occur. 

These investigations should be made either at the request of workingmen, the em- 
ployers of labor, or outside parties. The decision of the Industrial Commission should 
not be binding upon either party to the dispute, but all employers and employees should 
be urged not to have recourse to lockouts or strikes until the matters in dispute shall 
have been submitted to the Industrial Commission and at least a week's time given for 
the investigation, the result of which should be made pubHc. The expense of the In- 
dustrial Commission should be paid by the City of New York. 

The Creation of a State Employment Bureau. 

Although there are several hundred commercial employment offices in New York 
and a number of charitable agencies for helping people secure employment, they are 
not rendering the needed service in finding work for even those who can afford to pay 
the employer's fee for temporary employment, which will last frequently only a few 
months at longest and often only two or three months, as has been frequently testified 
before this Commission. At many of the meetings of the Commission poverty, low 
wages and lack of work have been given as important causes of room overcrowding 
and congestion. The creation of a Municipal Labor Bureau has been suggested several 
times, and the Committee on Labor and Wages have secured some information, al- 
though complete figures are not available regarding the number of persons for whom 
employment was secured. In New York City, under the Employment Agency Law of 
the State, employment agencies are licensed by the Commissioner of Licenses, and at 
the time this office was created there were 450 employment agencies licensed, but they 
number nearly double that now. The Commissioner of Licenses also regulates theatri- 
cal, commercial, stenographic, shipping and labor agencies and nurses registries. 

The following table shows, however, the number of situations secured in one year 
by some of the leading philanthropic agencies of the city, and the number of men, ex- 
clusive of the farm laborers, sent out of the city by employment agencies as shown by 
the contract labor statements filed. The list is incomplete : 

Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Society '• . 343 

Immigrants' Free Labor Bureau 4,071 

Industrial Removal Office ...._...._ 3,504 

Division of Information (Bureau of Immigration) 4,142 

Joint Application Bureau 421 

National Employment Exchange _ 4,120 

Number of men (exclusive of farm laborers sent out of the city by em- 
ployment agencies) 34,925 

Bureau of Labor (Dept. of Agriculture) about 5,000 

For a number of years German cities have been conducting impartial labor ex- 
changes. The attitude of the trade unions toward this work in the cities has been 
very interesting. In 1896, the Trade Unions' Congress condemned the impartial 
public labor exchanges, and about three years later, in 1899, it adopted the resolution 
that "under present conditions, the establishment of public labor exchanges might be 
of great advantage to many trades," and recommended organized labor everywhere 
to take its part in the management of these institutions. Practically all of the im- 
portant labor exchanges in Germany have committees of management representing 
employers and employed. 

There were in Germany in 1903, 400 public general labor exchanges, 30 employers' 
exchanges, 2,400 guild exchanges and 1,000 emplovees' exchanges, and in Stuttgart, 
with a population of 249,000 in 1905, a total of 62,9'l8 positions were filled in the last 
year for which the figures are available, while in Munich, with a population of 
539,000 in 1905, 60,752 positions were filled. In 1906, 82.9 per cent, of the tolal number 
of situations offered were filled, while 95.4 per cent, of the applicants for positions 
found work. 



^"" 209 

Attitude of Public Labor Exchanges Toward Labor Differences. 

The question has arisen naturally whether public labor exchanges should inter- 
fere with the question of wages and conditions of labor to the extent of refusing to 
notify situations in which wages and conditions do not conform to the "recognized" 
or trade union standard, but in Germanj^ no public labor exchange regards the en- 
forcement of any particular condition of labor within its functions, that being at- 
tended to by the unions and by the industrial courts; but a striking service rendered 
by these public labor exchanges, however, is the calling of an employer's attention 
when he offers an exceptionally low wage to the fact that there is small likelihood 
that he will get a man at that price. The second question is whether the public 
exchange in time of open disputes between the two parties should supply men 
through their agency to take the place of others on strike or lockouts. The exchanges 
have adopted four different methods of procedure. 

(1st) To ignore the dispute altogether and send workmen to the vacancy due 
to the dispute in exactly the same way as to any other. 

(2d) To register vacancies created by the dispute notifying the men and giving 
formal notice to the individual applicants that there is such a dispute and by placing: 
placards to this effect in the exchange rooms. 

(3d) To suspend operations within the range of the dispute during its continu- 
ance. 

(4th) To make action in each case depend upon the meeting and decision of the 
industrial court sitting as an arbitration tribunal. 

The second, that is, registering vacancies and giving formal notice of strikes, is 
common, and usually workmen refuse to take the positions made vacant by strikes. 

The reasons offered in Germany for the conversion from former hostility to 
strong, practical support of these labor exchanges is attributed to the following, 
amongst other reasons : 

Experience of the value of successful exchanges in shortening for the indi- 
vidual workmen the average period between one job and the next, and thus for the 
union the period of unemployed pay. 

The failure of purely trade union exchanges to secure general use by employers 
except in a few trades in which the men were already completely organized. 

The establishment by employers of their own exchanges in definite opposition to 
trade unionism. A, public (impartial) exchange is at any rate better from the work- 
men's point of view than an exchange managed deliberately with the object of main- 
taining a large reserve of labor or blacklisting individual "agitators." . 

Some trade unions still maintain their own labor exchanges, however. 

In Freiburg the number of situations annually filled is one in every 4.2 of the 
population, and in Stuttgart one in every 4.4, and in Mannheim one in every 8.2. 

On the basis of one for every 4.2 of the population of New York City, at least 
1,100,000 positions would be filled annually. 

In the German labor exchanges applicants are charged a registration fee of five 
cents, for which they get a certificate admitting them into the waiting rooms of the 
exchanges for three months, or until they can get a position. 

Unemployment in New York, of course, varies from year to year, and in differ- 
ent trades. 

The percentage of idleness in representative unions in New York City was as 
follows on December of each year, although the length of time of unemployment 
is unknown : 



1904. 


1905. 


1906. 


1907. 


1908. 


1909. 


17.8 


G.I 


12.8 


34.2 


27.7 


18 



This does not include the non-union, i. e., unorganized trades and labor in the 
City. 

The creation of a Municipal Employment Exchange has been carefully consid- 
ered by the Committee. After conferences with the State Commission on Employ- 
ers' Liability and causes of Industrial Accidents, Unemployment and Lack of Farm 
Labor, which has made at the Committee's suggestion several modifications of its 
proposed bill establishing public employment offices in several cities of the State, 
the Committee have decided to endorse the main features of this bill with the under- 
standing that if the proposed bill to establish employment offices as prepared by the 
State Commission on Unemployment, etc., is not enacted the Commission will recom- 
mend the creation of a Municipal Employment Exchange. 



210 

There are two reasons unique to large cities and especially New York for such 
State employment agencies : 

1st. The large number of unskilled wage earners in New York City. _ Out of a 
total this year of approximately 690,000 persons engaged in manufacturing in the 
industries supervised by the State Department of Labor, only 274,000 were members 
of labor unions on March 31, 1910. In addition to this number reported by the State 
Department of Labor, there are at least 500,000 persons engaged in semi-skilled or 
unskilled occupations in this City. 

2d. The temporary nature of innch employment hi the City. The City is itself, 
of course, the largest employer of labor in the City, and while it has about 85,000 
employees on its permanent payroll, it has about 22,000 who are temporarily em- 
ployed, that is, almost one-fourth are part timers. Approximately half_ of the un- 
skilled workers of the City are employed for only part of the year, that is, for from 
six to a maximum of ten or eleven months. There are not, unfortunately, definite 
statistics on this point. One of the arguments usually given for locating factories 
in New York City is, however, the large labor market; in other words, the fact that 
there are more men and women trying to earn a living than jobs to which they may 
turn, either immediately or for permanent employment. The fact that the City is 
spending such large sums on charity, both public and private, is partly due to the 
low wages and unemployment or under-employment in the City. Unemployment or 
under-employment is not entirely due, however, to lack of employment, but to ig- 
norance on the part of those temporarily unemployed or out of a job of the oppor- 
tunities for work. 

It has been stated that a State or Municipal Employment Bureau would not be 
able to compete with the scores of private employment agencies. The Committee 
feels that an efficiently administered Municipal Employment Bureau would be able 
gradually to drive unscrupulous or inefficient employment agencies out of the field, 
first, because those seeking employment through it would have more confidence in 
the honesty of its officials, and this would be especially true of foreigners, seeking 
work; and second, because the State or Municipal Employment Bureau would be able 
to render the service free. Most of these private agencies have a number of runners 
whose salaries and expenses are a large item in the cost of maintenance, while the 
total number of persons for whom each secures employment is relatively small. If 
it is found necessary, however, the total number of commercial employment agencies 
in the City may subsequently be limited to a stated number, the licenses of those 
whose record has been most unsatisfactory being revoked first. 

A National Department of Labor. 

The interests of the laborers of the country, skilled and unskilled, organized and 
unorganized, city and rural, are of such great importance as to require the organi- 
zation of a National Department of Labor with a Secretary who shall be co-ordinate 
with the Secretary of Commerce and have a seat in the President's cabinet. At many 
meetings of the Committee the fact has been emphasized that not only immigrants — 
whther naturalized or unnaturalized aliens — but American citizens as well, hesitate 
to go into the country, and when they do go they often find the real wages paid 
so low that the native American is unable to live upon the wages paid immigrants. 
It is very important not only that workers should know where there is work, but 
as well the conditions under which they will be able to work and live. This infor- 
mation can be most unbiasedly and frankly and generally secured by the Federal 
Government, through the Department of Labor. The duties of such a department 
should be two-fold : 

(a) To give the widest publicity throughout the country to the opporttmities for 
work. This information can best be given through a system of labor bureaus or ex- 
changes in different sections of the country. There should be one in at least every 
city of 25,000 or over, and in country districts, with an adequate corps of agents and 
adequate appropriation so that they could keep in touch with the need for labor not 
only of the city but of the surrounding country, and telegraph to the central office 
daily demands for laborers as well as laborers available, so that information could 
be sent daily to each branch office from the central office regarding the labor needs 
of the country. Complete and general information regarding the labor market is as 
important to the man who has only his labor to sell as similar information regard- 
ing stocks, bonds and grains is to the dealer in these commodities, and it is pre- 
eminently the function of the Government to furnish this information to the laborers 
of the country. The representatives of the Division of Information in the Depart- 
ment of Commerce and Labor testified that very often people come to New York City 
from some other State for a job and are sent back to a job in the same county from 
which they came. 



211 

(b) To give the widest publicity throughout the country to the conditions of 
labor, wages paid, permanency of employment, etc. This should be done by a corps 
of investigators in the Department of Labor, who should be contmually mvestigatmg 
in cities and country districts alike, the following conditions of labor and livmg : 

(a) Wages paid, whether by the day, week or month, method of payment and 
frequency in the main skilled and unskilled trades. 

(b) Unemployment, whether permanent or the number of weeks work a year 
and the possibility of securing supplementary work at a time of idleness of stated 

(c) Hygienic and sanitary conditions of factories or other places of employment. 

(d) Housing Conditions— The rent of two, three, four or five-room apartments 
within walking distance of work and transit facilities and fares. 

(e) Cost of m.ain staples of consumption, flour, meat, vegetables, sugar, etc. 

(f) Public school opportunities, length of school term, nature of instruction, 
physical equipment, etc. . . . ,- • 

(g) Social and recreational opportunities. The predominating nationalities or 
races and the general social opportunities, such as playgrounds, parks, theatres, rec- 
reation centres, lectures, cheap moving picture shows, etc. 

(h) Labor conditions, whether the shops are "closed," open or preferential, and 
whether strikes are imminent or in progress, with attitude of labor unions toward 
unorganized labor. ,1 

Such an investigation would show the real rate of wages and not merely tJie 
nominal wages, so that the laborer may know just what the wages offered really 

This investigation should be m.ade immediately public to the City authorities and 
to the community and an opportunity given them of from one to three months to 
improve conditions, after which a re-examination should be made, and the conditions 
then found should be made public through the press of the country. 

Reclamation of Waste Lands in the State and a More Intelligent State 

Forestry Policy. 

Prof. Liberty H. Bailey, of Cornell University, states : "Practically half of Ne\v 
York State is still in woods and swamps and wastes, but all of it is usable. Grass and 
timber extend to the tops of the hills." ,.,..,. 

The State has also about 1,600,000 acres of forests on which it is losing now 
about $700,000 annually by the rotting of timber. ^_ 

While, of course, sweatshop workers of New York v^ity could not be_ expected 
to make a' success as laborers in forests or reclaiming swamp lands, it is evident that 
there is ample opportunity for the employment productively of tens of thousands ot 
men on these enterprises and that the State should immediately undertake such a 
policy of conservation, as well as a stoppage of waste. 

Prohibition of Tenement Manufacture. 
Tenement manufacture is a most important cause and accompaniment as well as 
result of congestion of population. There are at present over 13,500 licenses tor 
tenements for manufacture in New York City, and there is practically no_ tenement 
manufacture in any other city of the State. At present an entire tenement is hcensed 
for manufacturing and not merely an apartment m a tenement. Evidence has Ire- 
auentlv been presented before the Commission that tenement manufacture is going 
on in apartments in which there are cases of consumption or scarlet fever or diphtheria 
or measles and that the people are so poor that if their work is taken away from 
them by the 'Board of Health because there is some case of contagious disease m 
the family, they secure some work from their neighbors in an adjoining apartment 
so as to earn money to pay their rent. u ^A 

The Committee therefore recommends that tenement house manufacture should 
be prohibited, since it is impossible practically to prevent the gross evils, Phpicfl 
and moral of which it is a cause. If it is not constitutional to prohibit absolutely 
tenement manufacture, they recomir.end that no tenement manufacture be permitted 
in any family in which there are children and that the manufacturer be made re- 
sponsible for this; that is, if any such work is found by the inspectors m families 
in which there are children, the manufacturer should be punished by a very heavy 
fine or imprisonment. To make possible the identification of clothing, they,recom- 
■ mend that the manufacturers of any product given out to be worked upon m tene- 
ments shall have the stamp or name of the manufacturer and his address and that 
Siy material found without such identification shall be confiscated by the City h rough 
the inspectors of the State Department of Labor or City Department of Health, and 
sold the proceeds to go to the Central Fund of the City for the reduction of taxes. 



212 

Prevention of Room and Factory Overcrowding. 

Rent is the first item of the family's budget to be cut down when the family 
receives low wages or when they are economical to the point of penuriousness. By 
taking in lodgers or by paying too little rent, i. e., having too few rooms, for the 
decent accommodations of their families, many men are enabled to work for less 
wages than they should receive and so eventually lower the standard of wages and 
living in general in the City. 

The Committee therefore urges that since the- housing standard is the one stand- 
ard which government can enforce adequate measures be adopted to prevent the 
present room overcrowding, and they feel that it would be better to pay rent for 
a few people even than to permit the lowering of wages due and made possible by 
room overcrowding. 

The Committee urge also that legislation should be enacted preventing the over- 
crowding of factories, which increase the danger of accidents and injures the health 
of the employees. 

Wages Paid in Some Factories in Brooklyn. 
Laborers, 18 cents per hour. 
Water Tenders, 19 cents per hour. 
Boilers, from $18 to $25 per week of seven days. 
Tallymen and Weighers, 26^ cents per hour. 
Longshoremen, 26j4 cents per hour. 
Ship Trimmers, 41 J^ cents per hour. 

The average pay of Longshoremen, 30 cents per hour, night. 
Night work, 45 cents per hour ; Sundays, 50 cents per hour. 
Railroads : 

New York Central, 19^ cents per hour. 
New Haven, 19^ cents per hour. 
Erie, 17 cents per hour. 

Clyde Line, 30 cents per hour day work ; 35 cents night work. 
Metropolitan, 25 cents day and night. 

Trans-Atlantic, 30 cents day work ; 45 cents night work ; 60' cents Christmas. 
Teamsters — Teamsters in the Sugar Flouse, $16 per week; 30 cents per hour over- 
time. 

The average pay of day laborers is 17^ cents per hour, 9 hours' work. 

Rockmen, $2.50 per day. 

Jute Mills — For women, from $4.30 to $6 per week. 

Men, from $6 to $8 per week. 

Longshoremicn, from $8 to $10 per week. 

Boys and girls, about $2.50 per week. 

Wages Must Be Sufficient During Employment to Support the Worker During 

THE Entire Year. 

Mr._ W. H. Beveridge, in '■Unemployment," states : "Ultimately, therefore, seasonal 
fluctuation becomes a question not of unemploj^ment, but of wages. From an econo- 
mic point of view no industry is self-supporting unless it pays wages sufi^icient to keep 
men, not only vvhile they are at work, but also while they must stand idle and in re- 
sei've. Where in any occupation seasonal fluctuation year after year brings acute 
distress, that occupation must be judged as one in which wages are too low or ill- 
spent, because they do not average out to a sufficiency for the slack months as well as 
for the busy ones. It is from this point of view that the problem must be regarded. 
It is upon this basis that its treatment must be attempted. (Note page 37.) 

Undereniploymeiit and Casual Labor. 

"By casual employment, therefore, real earnings may be and are driven down to 
a normal level far below the lowest rate possible in regular industry, however plentiful 
the competition and unorganized the workmen. This, however, by no means exhausts 
the peculiar evils of this indirect form of sweating. 

"First, such wages as are earned, are seldom used to the best advantage. Irregu- 
lar earnings averaging 25 shillings a week are for ordinary human nature by no means 
the equivalent of a regular wage of that amount. They are certain to a large ex- 
tent to be wasted in alterations of extravagance and privation. 

"Second, casual employment by demoralizing men largely increases its own evils. 
Men who find their chance of employment not reasonably increased by good be- 
havior and not destroyed bj^ bad behavior naturally become slack. They work 
badly; they take the chance of lying in bed now and again since work is always un- 
certain, but will not be made more uncertain to-morrow by the fact that it had not 
been sought to-day. It is, however, needless to dwell upon this point. There is gen- 



213 



cral agreement that casual employment, as was said of the casual wards, acts as a trap 
to catch the unemployed and turn them into unemployables.' • • ^u 

"Third, casual employment is one of the most potent causes of sweatmg m ttie 
ordinary sense. When the head of the family cannot get enough work, his wife and 
children are driven out to take what they can get at once. The tendency of low grade 
women's industries, jam making, sack and tarpaulin work, matchbox making and the 
like, to get estabHshed in districts where labor for men is rife has often been noticed. 
The effect of course, is to increase the immobility of the laborer; even if his earn- 
ings dwindle away to almost nothing, he is kept from effectively seeking work else- 
where by the occupation of his family. 'Much is now being said of the evils of home 
work and the low wages paid to women. But these evils m the great majority of cases 
are effect, not cause. They generally originate in the fact that women, unskilled and 
unab-le, even not desiring to work regularly, compete m low grade occupations at the 
time when their casually employed husbands and fathers are out of work Reduce 
the extent of casual labor among men and the supply of out-workers \yill decrease 
except at wages and under conditions that are of worth acceptance. It is useless to 
o-ive by means of a minimum wage to women the means for transforming the woman 
fntothe main supporter of thefamdy and so leaving the man free to accept even 
worse pay or rnore casual conditions.' . r t, ■ r • 

"Fourth, and following directly upon the foregoing, the danger of subsidizing 
casual employment by public or private relief without improving the conditions of the 
casual laborer is a verx real o"^. T. i. ..^t easy to get evidence of the^ nominal rate^ 
of wages in a district being affected injuriously by lax administration of outdoor relief 
or of charity • probably custom and public sentiment are at all times sufficient to hold 
in check the theoretical tendency of 'grants in aid of wages' to depress wages directly. 
But in regard to casual employment, while it is equally difficult to get direct evidence 
of harm done by charitable subsidies, it is dear than there are no such practical ob- 
stacles to the working of economic laws. People who would be aghast at charity or 
public assistance given to a man in receipt of low wages are quite ready to help an 
'unemployed' casual laborer, though if the analysis on page 79 is sound, the ultimate 
effect must be to lower the average share of work required for subsistence and thus 
increase the number of casual laborers till a fresh equilibrium is reached at that lower 

"While however, the problem of underemployment is in this sense limited and nar- 
rower than' that of the reserve of labor, it cannot profitably be considered without ref- 
erence to the wider aspects. It has to be seen as a problem, not of rescuing individuals, 
but of reforming an industrial method; as a problem, not of grappling with an emer- 
<rencv but of raising a general level of life. It is in essentials a problem of business 
Organization that of providing a reserve of labor power to meet fluctuations in such 
a way as not to involve distress. This is done by soi:u". industries. In the cossibilitv 
of doin<^ it for all lies the only hope of a cure for one of the most inveterate of social 
evils." "(Note, pp. 108, 109 and 110.) 

W. H. Beveridge: "Unemployment. (pp. 108, 109 and IIU.J 

Conclusion. 

Unemployment is not to be identified as a problem of general overpopulatipn. 
There is no reason to suppose that the industrial system has lost permanently anything 
of its former power to absorb the growing supply of labor There is a reason to sup- 
pose that any new stimulus to the expansion of industry is required.^ Ihere is con- 
clusive reason for holding that no such stimulus can make any lasting impression upon 
the causes of unemployment. , r , , . n 4.1, j a 

Unemployment arises because, while the supply of labor grows steadily, the demand 
for labor in growing, varies incessantly in volume, distribution and character. Ihis 
variation in several of its forms at least, flows directly from the control of production 
by many competing employers. It is obvious that, so long as the industrial world is 
split up into separate groups of producers, each group with a life of its pwn, and 
growing or decaying in ceaseless attrition upon its neighbors, there must be insecurity 
of employment It is probable that at least one of the most striking specific factors m 
the problem, namely, cyclical fluctuation of trade, may be traced ultimately to this 
same course Unemployment, in other words, is to some extent at least part of the 
price of industrial competition, part of the waste without which there could be no 
competition at all. Socialistic criticism of the existing order has therefore on this 
side much justification. The theoretic reply to that criticism must take the form, not 
of a denial, but of a gloss, that there may be worse things in a community than un- 
employment. The practical reply is to be found in reducing the pain of unemployment 
to relative insignificance. In this there seems to be no impossibility. If the_ solution of 
the problem of unemployment means that every man should have the certainty of con- 



214 

tinuous work throughout life, then no solution is to be expected, or, indeed desired. 
If, however, by a solution is meant that no man able and willing to work should come 
to degradation or destitution for want of wages, then a solution is, not indeed within 
sight, but by no means beyond hope. Its direction is certain and its distance not in- 
finite. The demand for labor cannot be stereotj^ped save in a stagnant industry. The 
supply of labor may be made unmeasurably more capable of following and waiting for 
the demand. 

"This on its two sides — of the following demand and waiting for the demand — 
is the poHcy outlined in the two last chapters. The policy mav be variously described. 

"It is a policy of industrial organization : of meeting deliberately industrial needs 
that at present are met wastefully because without deliberation. Fluctuations of de- 
mand are now provided for by the maintenance of huge stagnant reserves of labor in 
varying extremities of distress. There is no reason in the nature of things why they 
should not be provided for by organized reserves of labor raised beyond the reach of 
distress. To be able to follow the demand men must possess greater powers of in- 
telligent movement from place to place; they must possess also power to move from 
trade to trade, or — a more essential point — they must have better guidance in the first 
choice of occupations. To be able to wait for the demand, men must have a reserve 
for emergencies; they must not be living from hand to mouth; they must, through 
insurance or its equivalent he able to average wages over good and bad times and to 
subsist without demoralization till they can be reabsorbed again after industrial trans- 
formations. These two measures are complementary and, in some sense indeed, al- 
ternative to one another. The better the supply of labor is able to follow the demand, 
the less will it have to wait for the demand. The greater the power of waiting for the 
demand, that is to say, the higher the rate or the better the distribution of wages, 
the less need is there for movement. 

"It is a policy of establishing the standard of life upon a longer and broader basis. 
An individual is not self-supporting unless his earnings amount to a sufficiency for 
life and not merely to a sufficiency for the time of working. An industry is not self 
supporting unless it yields wages not only for the time of employment, but also for 
the time of inevitable unemployment as well ; unless it maintains all the men required 
by it both while they are in active service and while they are standing in reserve. So 
far, therefore, as the problem arises from fluctuations of industrial activity, it be- 
comes essentially one of wages — of their amount, division and expenditure, and, on 
this side at least, it falls within ascertainable limits. Fluctuations of trade vary in range 
but do not vary definitely. So far as the problem arises from changes of industrial 
structure or loss of industrial quality, it is not so measurable. In practice, however, 
causes of this_ nature are relatively unimportant, and in any case the resources, whether 
provided by individual saving or by way of insurance, which would enable men to 
fide over periods of temporary depression would also serve to keep them while search- 
ing for new occupations. 

"It is a policy of making reality correspond with the assumptions of economic 
theory. Assuming the demand for labor to be single and the supply perfectly fluid, it 
is not hard to show that unemployment must always be in process of disappearance, 
that demand and supply are constantly tending to an equilibrium. The ideal for 
practical reform, therefore, must be to concentrate the demand and to give the right 
fiuiditv to the supply. 

"Finally, it is a policy of introducing organization and unity where, and only 
where, they involve no harmful limitation of individual risks and responsibilities. In- 
dustrial competition involves that for every piece of work to be done, two separate 
producing units should oiTer, that there should be two tenders for every contract. 
With an unorganized labor market, this means that each of the two contracts tendering 
has to keep in his neighborhood, or within touch of him, a separate reserve of labor 
to be called on in case he should be successful. Whichever contractor is successful, 
one of these reserves will be unemployed. In the socialist state there will be no sepa- 
rate producing units, the two contractors will have been made one for all purposes. In 
the competitive state with an organized labor market there will still be the two con- 
tractors, but they will draw their men from a common centre, and so use the same 
reserve of labor. Whichever contractor is successful the same men will obtain em- 
plo>ment. The only loss of employment will be that of the unsuccessful contractor 
and his permanent stafi^. The heaviest stress of competition will fall where it can be 
borne with the least suffering and where it is most needed to prevent stagnation." 

W. H. Beveridge : "Unemployment" (pp. 235 and 237). 



215 



Table of Labor Exchanges in Germany ( 



Type of Exchange. 



Estimated 
Number 
Number of of Situations 
Exchanges. Filled (1904). 



1. Public, General 

2. Employers' 

3. Guild 

4. Employees' 

5. Employers' and Employees' Joint Management. 

6. Chambers of Agriculture 

7. Commercial (i. e., for clerks, travelers, etc.) . . . . 



400 


550,000 


30 


230,000 


2,400 


213,000 


1,000 


120,000 


60 


51,000 


11 


50,000 


60 


25,000 



These exchanges put would-be employers and employed into immediate communi- 
cation, and serve to supply a known market place for labor. 

Principal Public Labor Exchanges in Germany. 



Number of Situations 
Filled in the Last Year " 





Population 


r 


^ 


-N 


C 


haracter 


Town 


(1905)^ 


Male 


Female 


Total 


and Date ( 


Df Establishment 


Berlin 


, 2,040,090 


84,375 


15,182 


99,557 


Voluntary 
(1883), 


association 
with municipal 












subsidy since 1893. 


Stuttgart... 


. 249,000 


37.893 


18,427 


56,320 


Municipal 


(1895). 


Munich . . . . , 


539.000 


29,658 


24,015 


53,673 


Municipal 


(1895). 


Frankfurt. . 


. 335,000 


21,195 


15,701 


37,896 


Municipal 


(1895). 


Dresden. . . . 


. 517,000 


11,248 


22,893 


34,141 


Voluntary 


association. 


Cologne 


429,000 


21,805 


7,359 


29,164 


Representative association, 












with all 


expenditure met 












by municipality (1894). 


Dusseldorf . , 


253,000 


25,862 


2,'844 


28,706 


Representative association, 












with all 


expenditure by 












municipalitv since 1906. 












F"ormerl\ 


' Voluntary Asso- 












.ciation (1890). 


Leipzig .... 


. 504.000 


9,945 


16,425 


26,370 


Voluntary 


association, with 












municipal subsidv. 


Mannheim . 


164,000 


. . • • 




19,925 


Municipal 


since 1905. Form- 












erly voluntary association 












(1893). 




Freiburg. . . . 


74,000 


11,268 


6,433 


17,701 


Municipal 


since 1897. Form- 












erlv voluntary association. 












with municipal subsidy 












(1892). 




Strassburg . . 


168.000 


12,171 


3,293 


15.464 


Municioal 


(1895). 


Nurnburg. . 


. 294,000 


9,878 


4,940 


14,818 


Municipal 


(1896). 



^ These figures can only be taken as a very rough indication of the population 
actually dealt with by each exchange. 

"1906 or 1906-7, except in the case of Frankfurt (1905-6). Later figures of 
situation filled can now be given for some of the exchanges, viz, : 

Males. Females. Total. 

Stuttgart (1907) 

Munich (1907) 

Strassburg (1907-8) 

Nurnburg (1907) 



39,201 


23.717 


62.918 


33.602 


27.1.50 


60.752 


13.772 


3.307 


17.079 


10.874 


5,175 


16,049 



216 

In 1906 the Labor Ottice at Munich, which has a population of about 600,i 
positions for 53,673, classified as follows : 

Males. 

-Unskilled 1 1,978, or 40.4 per cent, of all males 

Skilled (industrial) 1 1,346, or 38.3 per cent, of all males 

Agriculture and forestry 3,947, or 13.3 per cent, of all males 

Apprentices 1,947, or 6.6 per cent, of all males 

Hotel and restaurant service 426, or 1.4 per cent, of all males 

Commercial 14, or 0.0 per cent, of all males 



found 



situations 
situations 
situations 
situations 
situations 
situations 



Hotel and restaurant service. 

Domestic service 

Unskilled 

Skilled (industrial) 

Agriculture 

Apprentices 



29,658 

Females. 

7,738, or 32.2 per cent, of all females 
7,077, or 29.5 per cent, of all females 
6,587, or 27.4 per cent, of all fernales 
1,868, or 7.8 per cent, of all females 
489, or 2.0 per cent, of all females 
229, or 1.0 per cent, of all females 



' situations 
' situations 
' situations 
' situations 
' situations 
' situations 



24,015 



Positions were found for 9,359 (7,594 males and 1,765 females), outside of Munich, 
including 291 in Germany outside of Bavaria, and 63 in foreign countries. The number 
of persons brought into Munich is considerably smaller. Work people sent to places 
more than 25 km. (15 miles) distant are allowed on presentation of a certificate from 
the exchange to travel on the State railways at half price, and in 1906 4,438 such cer- 
tificates were issued. The whole cost of the Labor Exchange is borne by the city. 

The Berlin Labor Exchange is the largest single institution of its kind, filling in a 
recent year about 100.000 positions, 30,324 of which were in the general labor section. 
It is a voluntary, not a municipal institution, although it receives an appropriation of 
about $15,000 a year from the city, and ultimate control and financial responsibility are 
vested in a voluntary association of subscribers. AppHcants are charged on registra- 
tion a fee of 5 cents, for which they get a certificate admitting them to the waiting 
rooms of the exchange for three months, or until they get a position. These fees 
yielded in 1906 $4,120. 

In Freiburg the number of situations annually filled is 1 in 4.2 of the population, 
in Stuttgart 1 in every 4.4, and in Mannheim 1 in every 8.2. 

The following table shows for 1906 for the principal German exchanges the 
number of situations filled, percentage filled of situations offered and percentage placed 
of applications. 

A. Males, 1906. 



Berlin 

Stuttgart . 
Munich . . . 
Frankfurt . 
Cologne . . . 
Dusseldorf 
Freiburg . . 
Strassburg 
Nurnberg . 





Percentage 






Filled of 


Percentage 


Situations 


Situations 


Placed of 


Filled. 


Offered. 


Applications 


84,375 


76.9 




37,893 


84.1 


72.5 


29,658 


86.3 


83.1 


22,285 


82.8 


42.5 


21,805 


95.3 


60.7 


25.862 


94.0 


68.9 


11,268 


74.3 


50.1 


12.171 


64.0 


53.4 


9,878 


82.9 


95.4 



217 
B. Females, 1906. 



Percentage 
Filled of Percentage 
Situations Situations Placed of 
Filled. Offered. Applications. 

Berlin 15,182 61.3 

Stuttgart 18,427 68.1 92.0 

Munich 24,015 63.7 74.1 

Frankfurt 15,701 74.4 82.5 

Cologne 7,359 66.0 , 93.8 

Dusseldorf 2,844 72.3 71.4 

Freiburg 6,433 67.4 72.4 

Strassburg 3,293 51.3 48.2 

N u rnberg 4,940 61_. 2 95 .2 

Owing to differences in the methods of registration, the figures in these columns 
do not justify any comparison between one exchange and another; they can only be 
used to compare the activities of the same exchange in different years. The Cologne 
and Freiburg reports refer to persons applying (Arbeitsuchendej, the others to appli- 
cations made (Arbeit or Stellen-gesuche), but do not all construe "application" in the 
same way. In Munich, at least, the recorded applications by no means represent all 
the actual applications. 

Practically all the important labor exchanges in Germany have committees of man- 
agement representing employers and employed. 

In 1896 the Trade Union Congress condemned the impartial public labor ex- 
changes ; in 1899 it adopted a resolution that "under present conditions the estab- 
lishment of public labor exchanges might be of great advantage to many trades," and 
recommended organized labor everywhere to take its part in the management of these 
institutions. 

Attitude of Public Labor Exchanges Toward Labor Differences. 

The attitude to be adopted by public labor exchanges in matters where the interests 
of employers and employees are opposed has been naturally much discussed. Two 
questions present themselves. 

First — Shall the exchange intervene in questions and conditions of labor in the 
sense of refusing to notify situations in which wages and conditions do not conform 
to the "recognized," or trade union standard? The answer in Germany has everywhere 
been in the negative. No public labor exchange regards the enforcement of any par- 
ticular conditions of labor as within its functions. Employer and workman must make 
their own bargain _; the exchange cannot and must not attempt to do more than put 
them into communication. The utmost that may be done, and is often done where an 
employer offers an exceptionally low wage, is to call his attention to the fact, and to 
the small likelihood of his getting a man at that price. If, however, the employer 
wishes it, the exchange is bound to notify the vacancy and the wages offered. Any 
man willing to accept the offer is free to do so. This principle appears to have been 
generally accepted as self-evident by everybody concerned — by trade unionists as much 
as others. Around a second question — as to the attitude of the public exchanges in 
times of open dispute between the two parties — much controversy has raged. Shall 
men be supplied through these agencies to take the places of others on strike or locked 
out? To supply the men is apparently to take the side of the employers against the 
employees ; to refuse to supply them is apparently to take that of the employees 
against the employers. In this dilemma four principal alternatives have been adopted 
by different exchanges : 

1. To ignore disputes altogether, i. e., to send workmen to a vacancy due to a dis- 
pute in exactly the same way as to any other (Nurnberg, Berlin till 1905). 

2. To_ register vacancies created 'by a dispute and to notify them to applicants for 
work, but in doing so to give formal notice of the dispute to the individual applicants 
(Berlin since 1905, Cologne since 1904, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt), and also by placards 
placed in the exchange premises (Munich since 1898, Stuttgart since 1901, Strassburg). 

3. To suspend operations within the range of the dispute during its continuance 
(Cologne till 1905, Barmen). 

4. To make action in each case depend upon the meeting and decision of the In- 
dustrial Court sitting as an arbitration tribunal (Munich till 1898, Leipzig). 

There can be little doubt that the second of these alternatives has most aoproved 
itself in practice. It has been adopted in three leading cases — Berlin, Cologne, Munich — 



218 

after trial of one or other of the alternatives. By 1907 the establishment or exclusive 
use of such an exchange has come to be a common demand of the workmen in collec- 
tive bargains or even the object of a strike. 

The remarkable conversion from former hostility to strong practical support is to 
be attributed to the followring amongst other reasons : 

1. Experience of the value of successful exchanges in shortening for the indi- 
vidual wrorkmen the average period between one job and the next, and thus for the 
union the period of unemployed pay. 

2. The failure of purely trade union exchanges to secure general use by employers, 
except in a few trades in which the men were already completely organized. 

3. The establishment by employers of their own exchanges in definite opposition 
to trade unionisrn. A public (impartial) exchange is at any rate better from the work- 
men's point of view than an exchange managed deliberately with the object of main- 
taining a large reserve of labor or of blacklisting individual "agitators." 

The support given to public labor exchanges is not, indeed, uniform. The printing 
trade has throughout Germany its own independent organization, maintained by joint 
agreement of employers and employees. A very large number of trade union registries 
maintain a shadowy existence, and some few a real vigor. This, however, is due mainly 
to sectional feeling and conservatism ; opposition on principle has practically died 
away. 

Suggestions Made by Mr. Percy Alden, M. P., for Dealing with Unemployment. 

(1) The Appointment of a Minister of Commerce and Industry, and the Estab- 
lishment of a Government Department to Deal Especially with the Question of Un- 
employment — If this is a national question, a special Minister at the head of a special 
department should have the responsibility placed upon him of dealing with it. The 
partial reorganization of existing departments dealing with labor is a necessary 
preliminary. 

(2) Compulsory Labor Bureaus — These bureaus in telephonic communication 
should be established in every district as in Germany, and should not be confined to 
municipal boroughs. They would supply the central department with all the facts 
and figures for each locality, and help to devise schemes for relief of distress by 
want of employment in that locality. They should do more than register the names 
and addresses of the unemployed. Careful investigation should be made in each 
case, to be followed by classification; employers should be interviewed; work should 
be found or suggested ; railway fares should be paid to districts where work was more 
plentiful and advice given as to relief stations, labor homes, etc. 

(3) Relief Stations and Labor Homes — The casual ward should be abolished 
and scattered throughout the country, within walking distance of one day; should be 
relief stations and labor homes where the unemployed in return for a few hours' 
work can be boarded and lodged for one or two nights while a search is made for 
employment._ There should be a labor registry in connection with each relief station 
and the stations and the labor bureau should be in telephonic communication, so that 
the impostor and the idle vagrant may be easily discovered. 

(4) A Graded System of Farm and Labor Colonies — including the following 
types : 

(a) A Farm Colony for Married and Unmarried Agricultural Laborers or Men 
Accustomed to Work on the Land Who Have Migrated to the Town and are Willing 
to Return to the Country — The difficulties of repatriating the agricultural laborer are 
not msuperable, and the establishment of a colony removes most of them. There 
should be a time of probation as in Frederiksoord. in Holland. If this period is success- 
fully passed and the colonist has proved himself to be industrious and efficient, a 
free farm or small holding should be granted to him at a moderate rent, with security 
of tenure so long as the tenant proves himself to be able and willing to treat the land 
fairly. Loans of money for stock, seeds, etc.. might be obtained through a local 
agricultural bank started by the colonv for this purpose on the Raififeisen principle. 
The free farmers should be organized and taught to work co-operatively as on the 
small holdings in Lincolnshire and Norfolk. If cottages for the married men are to 
be cheaply built, the by-laws might have to be relaxed, and in any case the Government, 
through the county council, should assist in the matter of cheap loans for housing 
purposes. 

(b) A Farm Colony for Town-Bred Men. Controlled by a Large Municipality 
or a Group of Small Towns, or a Representative Committee Governing a Fairly Wide 
Area — These colonies would be for third and fourth rate mechanics chiefly, crushed 
out by severe competition, or for unskilled laborers of good character, who feel their 
mabihty to earn a permanent livelihood in the town. Changes in methods of industry 



219 

and severe industrial depression will account for the process of deterioration con- 
stantly going on in this class. Some of them may have worked on allotments near 
the town; but the majority would have to be taught the rudiments of agriculture. 
The colony should, therefore, be an agricultural training school, so that after a period 
of probation men may be passed on to colony A. 

(c) A Colony Somewhat of the German Type, Including the Criminal Element 
and Men of Bad Character — The colonists would consist, in the main, of men of the 
low grade, unskilled, broken down through misfortune, the hopeless and weak-willed 
men below par, unable to hold their own in the severe competition of the town. In 
connection with this colony, the labor would be simpler, confined almost entirely to 
the more elementary work of market gardening, the improvement of land, the making 
of roads, the trenching of land, and a few simple indoor trades, like basket-work, 
brush-making and mat-making. Such men are frequently found to improve both in 
body and mind under the healthy conditions of colony life. The best of them would 
again be passed on to colony B. 

(d) Poor Law Farms for Epileptics, Inebriates and the Physically Defective— 
The various classes of inmates should be kept separate, and it would be as well to 
classify in each section. The treatment should be scientific and medical, for example, 
the percentage of cures in the cases of epilepsy is much greater where sufficient pains 
in the first place have been taken to trace the causes of the disease. .At Bielfeld and 
Wilhelmsdorf much more care is now being exercised in this matter. For inebriates 
there are well-known methods of medical treatment which considerably shorten the 
time during which it is necessary to stay on a farm colony. 

(e) Poor Law Colonies Compulsory for the Vagrant and the Wastrel — The 
example of the Belgian colonies must not be too closely followed. Every effort should 
be made to reform the vagabond, so that, while compelled to work, he may feel that a 
door of escape into a higher colony is still left open if only he chooses to avail 
himself of it. Many of our idle "ne'er-do-wells" are men who have sunk to this low 
level not altogether as a result of their own evil habits, but partly by reason of the 
fact that lack of work has caused them to become demoralized and degraded. A 
certain percentage even of these men might be reformed if properly treated, just as 
the young criminal is reclaimed by the Borstal system in England, or by the Elmira 
system in the United States. Men who are at present in a Poor Law farm, like that 
of Poplar, able-bodied inmates of the workhouse, now willing and ready to do a 
good day's work, would naturally be handed on to a higher type of colony. 

(5) Unemployment Committees or Councils — These committees or councils with 
spending power conferred by legislation and dealing with the unemployed question 
over wide areas should consist of representatives of existing bodies somewhat on 
Mr. Walter Long's plan, with power to call to their aid the trades and union leaders. 
They should have full authority to deal with the whole problem and to co-ordinate 
the "various agencies throughout their districts. The cost should be borne partly by 
the local authorities concerned, and partly by the Imperial Government. Under the 
control of these unemployment committees would be all local relief work, relief 
stations and labor homes throughout the area, together with a central bureau and one 
or more labor colonies on the lines already indicated. 

(6) The Reclamation of Foreshores and Waste Land, the Building of Sea-walls, 
etc.. by the Government Department, on the Lines of the Experiments Made by the 
Dutch Government — The great advantage of this work is that much of it can be left 
for periods of depressed trade, when the unemployed of the large towns can be drafted 
out for periods of one or two months at a time. 

(7) The Apportionment of the Wasted Land by the Government — A beginning 
should be made with crown lands suitable for this purpose, thus creating a new and 
profitable industry. There are over ten million acres of waste lands in the United 
Kingdom suitable for afforestation purposes. 

(8) The Improvement of Canals and Inland Waterways — To be purchased by 
the Government at the present valuation. 

(9) The Reorganization of the Port of London, Carrying Out the Recommenda- 
tions of the Royal Commission with a View to — 

(a) The improvement of the port and river. 

(h) The reclamation of the river foreshores and 

(c) The abolition so far as possible of casual labor in the docks. 

(10) Government Grants to Trades Union Unemployed Insurance, with a view to 
the encouragement of this form of self-help amongst all grades of skilled labor. The 
subsidies should be prooortionate to the contributions of the trades unions. 

(11) A Shorter Working Day for All Governrhent and Municipal Employees — 
This should especially be the case with regard to those who are employed in the work 



220 

of transport and locomotion, where foreign competition can play only a very small 
part. It has been pointed out that in the case of the London County Council tram- 
ways, shorter hours in conjunction with proper management have resulted in increased 
profits. 

(12) Until some, at least, of these recommendations are carried out, disfranchise- 
ment as a result of receiving Poor Law relief should be abolished. At present only 
the industrious poor are so disqualified, for the remainder, as a rule, have no fixed 
■domicile. 

In addition to these direct methods of dealing with the problem of unemployment 
we must never forget that the solution of the question depends, in the long run, not 
so much on the immediate palliatives which we may be able to suggest as upon such 
reconstruction and reorganization of society as will give prominence to the ethical and 
the co-operative rather than the competitive factors in our national life. While every 
•effort is made to improve and strengthen individual character and to encourage the 
formation of such habits as will help to obviate many of the social ills we deplore, 
we must not forget the tendency of conditions and environment to create those evils. 

I^EPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHARI- 
TIES OF THE NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON CONGESTION OF 
POPULATION, PREPARED BY ALDERMAN STEPHEN CALLAGHAN, 
CHAIRMAN. 

After careful consideration of the causes of poverty in New York City, the Coni- 
mittee have come to the following conclusions : 

First. That causes of poverty, such as unemployment, accident, bad housing or 
underemployment, low wages, overcrowding, sickness, widowhood, lack of male 
support, inefficiency or lack of training, drunkenness or laziness and pre-eminently 
the high cost of land and high rents due to land speculation and unjust methods of 
taxation, are not in any way removed or even materially improved, but rather aggra- 
vated by the present methods of both public and private charity in New York City. 

Public charity officials admit that they do not attempt to ascertain the causes 
which bring the patients to Bellevue or other public institutions, but merely take them 
3.S they come, and do the best possible for them when they make application, with 
the exception, of course, that they do not assist those who have not a legal right or 
•claim to public charity. It is manifestly impossible for them to do this careful 
investigation unless they have larger appropriations for this specific purpose. 

It i<5 not the function of this Committee, it understands, to discuss or pass upon 
-the efficiency of administration of any city or state charitable institution, since there 
.are_ now municipal administrative committees charged with this duty, but merely to 
indicate to what extent the institutions are made necessary by congestion of popula- 
tion and room overcrowding and what effect they have upon perpetuating congestion 
.and room_ overcrowding or really relieving these conditions. 

It is inevitable that with the multiplicity of private charities in the City responsi- 
ble to no one and dependent for adequate support upon the showing they make of 
T)ersons relieved, visits paid, etc., that there should be both duplication and waste. 

The City has not at present any outdoor relief — that is, relief to the poor in their 
homes, with the exception of pensions to the blind, this municipal function having 
been assumed by private charitable societies with an enormous influence in the State 
Legislature on the plea that they could administer this relief to the poor of the City 
more economically, more efficiently and with better net results to the City as a whole, 
and that the City cannot be trusted to give public outdoor relief because there would 
' "be "politics" in it. 

The Committee finds, however, the following facts with respect to outdoor relief. 
i. e.. relief to the ooor in their homes by private charities : 

()) Over 150.000 persons, it is known, receive outdoor relief and a larger number, 
counting in the beneficiaries of churches and small charities, probably at least 500.000 
persons, receive some relief annually in New York City, at least one in every nine 
persons in the City. 

(2) _ Much of the relief given by these societies is given to people living in con- 
gested districts with very high land values where they cannot possibly afford a proper 
standard of living on the usual wages for unskilled workers. 

(3) Relief is being given by certain charities in the City to peonle living 
m such unhealthy rooms and apartments that the Department of Health refused 
to grant a license for home manufacture, which indicates that the rooms were in very 
bad condition. 

^4) Relief is given by private societies to families in tenements where manu- 
facture is constantly going on. 



221 

(5) That although private charities claimed a few years ago when they opposed 
public outdoor relief, that they could meet the needs of the community for such relief, 
they are manifestly unable to meet these needs, if a decent standard is maintained 
among the wage-earners of the city. Honest and self-respecting citizens hesitate to 
apply to any society for relief, and the relief given by some of the large societies is- 
inadequate to maintain a family and is not continued for a sufficiently long time, as 
admitted by some of the large societies. More money is given by societies in time of 
unemployment and in dull trade seasons. 

(6) That a large part of the money given by private charity is wasted or un- 
necessary because it is given to make amends or to counteract the results of bad 
housing conditions and unsafe or underpaid employment. The financial agent (at that 
time) of one of the oldest charities in Manhattan stated before the Committee that, 
"between one-half and two-thirds of the money spent on charity in the city is wasted 
or unnecessary." 

The evidence presented by experts in charitable work and by a study of actual 
records shows that the public and private charity of the city is at best an ineffective 
and costly method of attempting to make atonement for bad housing conditions, low 
wages, and the evident desire of certain manufacturers in New York City to keep 
within walking distance of their factories a surplus of unskilled workers. They well 
know that starvation knows no minimum wage, and that the hordes of immigrants who 
come to this citj^ looking for employment will for some time continue to work for 
these starvation wages. 

The continuance of private or public charity to these classes of unfortunates means 
that the land speculator, the tenement sweater and the exploiting manufacturer put 
upon the respectable and hard working citizens of New York City the burden of caring 
for the victims of their injustice and this means a very large share of the $15,000,000 
which the City and state spend in New York City. As for private charity's expendi- 
tures of about $20,000,000 annually, this represents a premium put upon these private 
charities by these same three classes of exploiters of New York's wage earners, in 
so far as their exploitation creates the need for this expenditure. 

Third. So long as the present causes of poverty and sickness continue the cost 
to the public and private charity of the City will not only continue but necessarily 
increase. Even with the enormous expenditures today by the City and by the hun- 
dreds of private charitable societies but a small part of the money required to counter- 
act the results of the death-dealing conditions in the City is really spent. 

New York has never yet estimated what it would cost to do two things which it 
should long since have undertaken. 

To care through public funds for all the widows with children who are compe- 
tent to care for their children in their own healthy homes. 

To eradicate consumption as far as it exists to-day. It must in fairness be stated 
that so long as the occupancy of rooms now legally permitted to be occupied con- 
tinues, we shall continue to have about 28,000 new cases of consumption and 10,000- 
deaths from consumption every year, but the city is under solemn obligations to spend 
any amount needed to restore to health the lives of the citizens now being murdered 
with the City's connivance in the tenements of the City and as well to care for the 
families of these victims, and while this may be done under the Department of Public 
Charities, it must not be regarded as a charity, but rather as a solemn obligation the 
City owes to the families of those slaughtered in process of creating land values in 
the .imperial City. 

The cost of carmg adequately for the present cases of consumption will be ap- 
proximately $8,000,000 for the first year, $5,000,000 for the second and lesser amounts 
each succeeding year. 

Recommendations of the Committee. 
The Committee beg to make the following recommendations : 
(1) All private charities in the City, whether directly receiving subsidy from 
the City or not, but who occupy land or buildings exempt from taxation should be 
under the same supervision of the Department of Finance as those directly receiv- 
ing per diem appropriations from the City are now under supervision by the State 
Board of Charities. As has already been pointed ovit most of these charities receive 
valuable appropriation from the City in the form of exemption from taxation, which 
amounts to approximately one-sixtieth at present of the total valuation of their land 
and improvements, and in some cases amounts to as much as several thousand dollars 
a year. 

In addition, the policy of many private societies is to give relief without much^ 
and often without any realization of, the results of the charity. If immigrants become a 
charge on public charities within three years of their arrival they become liable to de- 



222 

portation under the Immigration Law ; they may, however, apply with impunity to 
private charities and receive sufficient aid to enable them to maintain a proper standard 
of living, and then as soon as the three years expire they are eligible to assistance 
from the public charities of the City or State. On the other hand, the giving of private 
charity to people in congested districts is most expensive to the City. In the longrun 
the City or State must take care of the poor of any community. If private charities 
find that families applying for relief do not live properly or exert themselves ade- 
quately, they withhold or refuse relief, and this is the most that they can do to secure 
norma'l conditions in the family. With such a wealth of charities in the City to turn 
to, however, the family that has even one member not feeble-minded can readily secure 
assistance. The city is ultimately responsible for the living or death of its citizens, and 
however zealous and scientific private charities may be they should not be permitted to 
assume the functions of government without governmental supervision at least. The 
present tendency of private charities is to give relief to those who apparently need it 
most and they unquestionably tend to hold in New York City many people who might 
otherwise take work outside of the City, even in those cities and districts without 
the multitudinous charities of New York. The City, as ultimate sponsor for citizens, 
should regulate and supervise the work of private charities for citizens. 

At present there is no such supervision of the hundreds of smaller charities, ex- 
cept a Bureau of Advice and Information in the Charity Organization Society, which 
reports upon the fitness of societies or organizations applying to the public for support. 

It is an interesting illustration of the assumption by private charities of the regu- 
lative function of government, but indefensible on either practical or theoretical 
grounds. Strong charities such as the Charity Organization Society and presumably 
others should welcome City supervision over private charities. 

(2) More careful supervision should be made between classes of applicants 
for public charity; that is, a distinction should be drawn upon the basis of previous 
effort and conduct between those who apply for public relief. Those who have 
been hard working and thrifty and who are in want through conditions entirely be- 
yond their control such as loss of health through unsanitary housing or labor condi- 
tions or through the death or sickness or injury of the wage earner should not be 
treated as paupers in any sense of the word. They are entitled to relief just as much 
as veterans of a war. On the other hand those who have been shiftless and improvi- 
dent or have been addicted to the excessive use of drink or to other excesses should 
be treated on an entirely different basis. 

Any assistance given to the former class should be regarded as relief due them by 
the Citv; any assistance given to the latter class should be regarded as charity and 
tlie taking thereof should involve a stigma upon the recipient. To a certain extent 
this distinction is already made by the Department of Public Charities. The agents of 
many of the large charitable societies frequently stated before your Committee that 
their societies are unable to meet the demands upon them, and that they are unable 
to give adequate relief to the families regarded as under their care or to continue that 
relief for a sufficient length of time. 

(3) Private charities having shown definitely that they cannot provide the 
assistance which is needed by the poor of New York City, it is evident that recourse 
must be had to public outdoor relief ; that is, to relief by the City to the families whose 
chief wage earner is unable to provide for them in their own homes outside of con- 
gested districts. In this way the City can prevent much of the sickness and resultant 
expense to the taxpayers, due to the under-nourishment of famihes and, at the same 
time, encourage the distribution of families. Your committee appreciate that there 
•are some dangers in this policy of improving the condition of the poor, which we dis- 

russ, but believe that these dangers are not any more serious than are those of relief 
by private charities. 

Dangers of Public Outdoor Relief. 

(a) The relief may practically result in a lowering of wages since the employer 
may feel that as the City will look after his workers if he doesn't pay them sufficient 
wages, he may, therefore, with impunity, continuously underpay them. This danger 
inheres equally in giving relief to the poor by private charities, and the Committee on 
Labor and Wages of this Commission have already suggested a corrective to such pro- 
cedure on the part of the employer by suggesting the creation of an Industrial Com- 
mission in the City, whose duties it shall be not only to intervene when strikes or lock- 
outs are threatened but as well constantly to investigate labor conditions and wages 
paid in the City, both to skilled and unskilled wage earners, organized and unorgan- 
ized, and to endeavor, by persuasion, and where necessary, by publicity, to secure the 
payment of better wages. 

(b) "Politics" will interfere with the giving of adequate relief to families who 
need it, and will involve waste and giving of large sums to famihes when the wage- 



223 

earning voters belong to the party in power. Undoubtedly there may be a tendency 
to utilize the expenditure of any public funds to further political ends just as the dis- 
tribution of private funds by private societies is susceptible of being used for the 
furthering of private ends. 

In the judgment of the Committee, however, any such improper use of funds can 
be corrected by proper publicity. 

(c) The net result of the City's giving relief to the poor in their homes will be 
to give this charity to the landowner and tenement sweater since it anchors people in 
congested districts. In so far as relief is given to people in congested districts by the 
City, when they would otherwise move to sections where they could get healthier hous- 
ing at lower rents, the same benefit will be conferred upon landlord and tenement 
owner, as is conferred when the relief is given to those in these places by the private 
charities of the City. It is true that this is the result of a good deal of private charity 
and that the ultimate beneficiaries of so-called charity, a difference between public and 
private charity is, that the giver of private charity has no control whatsoever over the 
recipients of their charity, except a shadowy moral control and the threat to withhold 
relief. 

It is only government that can determine the location of recipients of charity and 
government which should do so. 

Private charities may continue their care of famiUes as long as they have funds 
to do this and then drop "the famihes, but the City is responsible in the long run for the 
indigent sick and infirm. It need hardly be stated that the City should not, any more 
than should private charity, give any relief to people living in unsanitary tenements 
in congested districts or to those who are dissipated. As has already been stated 
a distinction should be made in relief granted to various classes of applicants. Out- 
door Relief should be dispensed through a Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor_ Relief, 
appointed by the Mayor, analogous to the trustees of Bellevue and Allied Hospitals, to 
be provided with an expert administrator, offices, investigators and equipment. 

Although the Committee have not found that all the witnesses who have appeared 
before them have agreed with them on this proposition, they are willing to accept the 
conclusion reached by the Minority of the EngUsh Royal Commission on the Poor 
Laws and Relief of Distress. This conclusion is given in the Minority Report (p. 
690) : "That the abolition of Outdoor ReHef to the non-ablebodied is, in our judg- 
ment, wholly impracticable, and, even if it were possible, it would be contrary to the 
pubUc interest. There are, and in our opinion there always will be, a large number 
of persons to whom public assistance must be given, who can, with most advantage to 
the community, continue to Hve at home ; for instance, widows with children whose 
homes deserve to be maintained intact, sick persons for whom domiciliary treatment 
is professionally recommended, the worthy aged having relatives with whom they can 
reside, and such of the permanently incapacitated (the crippled, the bUnd, etc.) as 
can safely be left with their friends. Nor can the community rely on voluntary char- 
ity providing for these cases. In many places such charity does not exist, and in many 
others there is no warrant for assuming that it would ever be adequate to_ the need. 
Moreover, our investigations show that voluntary charity, in so far as it exists in the 
forms of doles and allowances to persons in their homes, has all the disastrous char- 
acteristics of a laxly administered Poor Law." 

It should be noted that despite the fact that there are in New York City hun- 
dreds of relief-giving agencies, that there are practically none in either Queens or 
Richmond, while their efforts have been concentrated chiefly in the congested Borough 
of Manhattan and the congesting sections of Brooklyn and The Bronx. 

(4) The City should pay pensions to widows with children when these widows 
are competent to care for their children. The number of widows with several chil- 
dren in New York City at present can be only estimated, but the methods_ now _ fol- 
lowed by the private charities and the City alike in dealing with such cases is entirely 
unsatisfactory. Private charities admit that they cannot give adequate rehef, while the 
City, to a large extent, separates the family, putting the children in institutions and 
letting the mother earn her own living, when the total cost of caring for three or 
four children in institutions, whether public institutions or private institutions, in 
receipt of per diem or weekly appropriations from the City, may be greater than the 
cost of caring for the entire family. The care the mother can give the childrenis 
worth, however, a larger expenditure by the City. This relief should also be admin- 
istered through the Board of Trustees of Public Outdoor ReHef, but widows should 
be required to live in districts selected by this Board of Trustees, and in wards with 
a density of not over 300 to the acre, and under housing conditions approved by this 

Mr. Homer Folks, former Commissioner of Public Charities of New York, al- 
though questioning the feasibility of public reUef to the poor in their homes, favored 



224 

before the Committee the granting of pensions by the City to widows with children, 
provided the mothers meet certain standards as to character. He emphasized, how- 
ever, that this relief should not be regarded in any sense as charity to the widows, 
but that it should be done on a basis, so far as practical, to take it out of the realm of 
charity and approach as nearly as possible to an indemnity for the earning capacity 
of the husband, so that the mother may be enabled to bring up her children as they 
would have been brought up had their father lived and worked for them. 

Former Commissioner of Public Charities, Robert W. Hebberd, stated that some 
private charities in the City do not give, as a rule, more than $1 to $1.50 a week to 
families, which, of course, is not enough to support the family adequately, so that 
the family must be broken up and the children placed in institutions. He strongly 
endorsed the City's giving pensions to good widows with children. 

Mrs. Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch, who has been for many years head resident 
of Greenwich House Settlement, and in constant touch with the conditions of poor 
families on the lower East side, advocated the giving of pensions to such widows 
with children as the only humane method of meeting the City's responsibility to their 
families, as well as a more economical method of caring for the children. 

The Minority Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of 
Distress recommends : "That for widows or other mothers in distress having the care 
of young children, residing in homes not below the national minimum of sanitation, 
and being themselves not adjudged unworthy to have children entrusted to them, there 
should be granted adequate home aliment on condition of their devoting their whole 
time and energy to the care of the children. That for the childless wives of able- 
bodied men in attendance at a training establishment, adequate horrre aliment be 
granted, conditional on their devoting their time to such further training in domestic 
economy as ma}'- be prescribed for them." 

(5) The City should adopt a policy of removing charitable institutions from 
congested districts (except emergency hospitals and similar institutions). Mrs. Flor- 
ence Kellcy has submitted to the Committee a list of 50 institutions of different kinds 
located in congested sections of New York. The total assessed values of the sites 
alone of six of these institutions in 1909 amounted to $4,026,000, whi^h is, of course, 
tax exempt, while the total appropriation by the City to these six institutions for 1910 
was $945,487.66. The cost to the City and the wastefulness of permitting such institu- 
tions to occupy costly exempt sites is very serious, but even more serious is the evil 
effect upon the children and other inmates of such institutions. 

The congestion and overcrowding in some of these institutions, the Committee 
was informed, is as serious as exists in any tenements in the City. 

Commissioner Folks, who is recognized throughout the world as an expert in 
child saving and child caring work, stated that the most serious evil of the crowded 
conditions in institutions for children is the fact that children do not have a chance 
to develop the affections in a purely normal way, and it is impossible to reproduce the 
kind of home life they will have to live subsequently. 

Mrs. Florence Kelley also called attention to the fact that for the health and wel- 
fare of public charges it is obviously desirable that they should have most favorable 
surroundings, which they cannot have in the crowded parts of New York City. By 
reason, too, of the unsuitable location of certain charitable institutions in New York, 
the City's charges committed to them cannot be employed at outdoor occupations such 
as might befit their physical and moral needs, but are confined to the work of the 
institutions and the needle trades and laundry work. These latter aro two of the most 
undesirable occupations for which women and girls can be trained. 

Various suggestions have been made as to the best methods of securing the 
removal of the scores of charitable institutions now located in congested districts of 
the City. Commissioner Hebberd recommended that a much larger per capita appro- 
priation be given to institutions that are organized on the cottage plan in the country, 
so that this in itself would be an inducement to remove their institutions. He also 
advocated the City's taking an active policy in encouraging the removal by refusing to 
give them appropriations after a stated time. 

Commissioner Folks also stated : "It is essentially the right thing for the City _to 
use its influence to expedite the removal of such institutions to the country, and insist 
upon its being done. I do not mean by any harsh methods or through coercion. I 
would begin by calling on them for a statement as to whether they are planning to go 
to the country and when they expect to go. and by declaring that the City was in favor 
of this cottage system, and urging upon these institutions to adopt it and that within 
a reasonable time, and then again later call upon them for a report of progress, and 
if they have not in any way given the matter attention or done anything further 
about adopting this plan, fix a time limit for them to do something in." 

The Committee therefore recommend that the Comptroller should be re- 



225 

quested to ascertain from the management of every charitable institution, except 
emergency hospitals in Manhattan and lower Bronx and the western half of Brooklyn, 
in receipt of per capita, per diem or weekly appropriations from the City for their 
inmates, as well as -from the City departments, whether they plan to remove from 
these districts to cheaper land, either in the outer sections of the City or in the City 
limits, and if so, when they plan to move, and that they should be notified that if they 
have not taken any steps to move their institutions prior to July 1, 1912, that they will 
not be eligible for any appropriation from the City for the year 1913. They feel that 
this action is justified, inasmuch as the assessed land values of charitable institutions 
tax exempt in congested districts in the City amounts to approximately $25,000,000. 
This land being tax exempt, is assessed at lower values than it wotild be if improved by 
buildings for commercial, business or tenement purposes; moreover, the buildings 
themselves are, of course, tax exempt, and it is most conservative to estimate that 
the property including several scores of acres would, if improved by buildings for 
commercial and business purposes, add an additional taxable value to the City of ap- 
proximately $70,000,000. This amount, it must be remembered, represents approxi- 
m.ately one one-hundredth of the taxable value of the real estate in New York City, 
including land, improvements, real estate of corporations and special franchises. At a 
tax rate of $1.80 per hundred on the assessed value, this represents a total annual loss 
to the City of $1,260,000, and this is practically a net loss, since the total values of 
land and buildings in the outlying sections of the City would be a relatively small ag- 
gregate as compared with this loss to the City of the tax exemption on these institu- 
tions in the central part of New York. The total assessed value of private and public 
charitable institutions in Manhattan, The Bronx and the western and north central 
part of Brooklyn in 1910 was $68,523,050, and the total appropriations made to chari- 
table institutions through the Comptroller's office was $4,734,252.26. 

While it does not come directly within the scope of the Committee on Charities 
to refer even to the labor problem, they nevertheless note their agreement with the 
Minority Report of the English Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of 
Distress, "that no effective steps can be taken towards the 'Decasualization of Casual 
Labor,' and the Suppression of Unemployment, without simultaneously taking action 
to ensure the immediate absorption, or else to provide the full and honorable main- 
tenance, at the public expense, of the surplus of laborers that will thereby stand 
revealed." This does not me?n that the Committee believe that the City or the State 
is responsible for furnishing work to the workless in New York City, nor would they 
make this the Mecca for those who do not work for more than a few hours a day or 
a few months or weeks in the year. They recognize fully that although statistics, 
have not been prepared showing that immigrants as they arrive in New York cannot 
maintain enough to support themselves, yet the consensus of opinion has been that 
the enormous majority of immigrants are living in overcrowded conditions even for a 
number of years after they arrive here, largely because they cannot produce the amount 
necessary to enable them to maintain the standard of living in New York City. It 
would certainly be a serious mistake for the City to attract any more immigrants to 
become a public charge, even for a few years after their arrival. As a practical 
means, however, of enabling the class who are now practically dependents, and the 
vastly larger numbers who would be dependents upon either public or private charities 
if New York City dares to enforce a decent and healthy standard of housing, the 
Committee suggest that the City should purchase large tracts of land, either in par- 
tially settled sections of the Boroughs of Richmond and Brooklyn and Queens, where 
land has today only a nominal value, and provide decent homes for the City's poor 
similar to the New York City Farm Colony, as the report of that institution shows 
that inmates of this colony are able to raise a large proportion of the vegetables which 
they consume. While also statistics have not been kept either by private charities 
giving relief which indicate to what extent their beneficiaries must live near their 
work, they indicate the following very important causes of poverty : Long hours of 
work, temporary employment, low wages, high rentals and lack of training. 

The Committee are convinced that it will be entirely feasible to train adults in 
agriculture and in gardening .in this larger City Farm Colony, as the State is distincly 
and sorely in need of trained agriculturists and farm laborers. The people who do 
this work should be paid at the rate locally current for the work, while any products 
should be sold by the City at the current rates ; also, a careful record should be kept 
of the actual cost of the institution to the City. 

(6) The Committee also urges the necessity of a Municipal Labor Exchange or 
Bureau, and that the State be urged to undertake immediately the reclamation of 
waste lands in the State, as well as a wiser forestry policy. 

The Committee have not underestimated either the responsibility of industry for 
the support of workers nor the personal element and individual responsibility for 



226 

poverty. They endorse the principle of workingmen's compensation and employers' 
liability. They recognize that both public and private relief, whether indoor or out- 
door, are only interim measures, but nevertheless essential under present organization 
of society. 

They urge the development of a system of public social insurance, and that such 
a system of public insurance be adopted, based upon cost and incumbent upon all 
members of the community with an income of less than $1,200 a year and permissive 
up to $2,000. 

A. Statement of Hon. Robert W. Hebberd, Secretary of the State Board of Charities, 

on Charities. 

There are a great many charities connected with churches as well as fraternal 
societies in the City that are spending large sums for charity and it is not possible to 
estimate exactly what they are spending. It is evident, however, that the present 
methods of charitable societies is not improving permanently the sufferers from con- 
gestion or estabhshing better standards of Hving, because they are not dealing ef- 
fectively with conditions which are making their work necessary. 

We cannot exterminate consumption without distributing population and keeping 
people out of unsanitary and dark buildings in which they are living now. It is very 
difficult for the government to establish completely a standard of living, that is to 
determine what food and how much people must eat, but the state or municipality must 
establish a housing standard. 

Alderman Callaghan : Do you think public outdoor relief should be given, or can 
"the private charities themselves meet the present demands? 

Commissioner Hebberd : Private charities claimed some time ago that outdoor 
relief in New York City was a bad thing and detrimental to the public interest and 
secured its abolition, claiming that they could meet the needs. It would be better for 
private charities to come out now and say that they are not able to raise the money 
needed to relieve destitution in the City and that they are not filling the bill in this 
respect. 

The National Conference on Dependent Children called by President Roosevelt 
emphasized the fact that good women bringing up children should be helped in their 
homes, since this is a great deal better for them than breaking up the homes and 
placing the children in institutions. In order to do this, however, private charities in 
the City must pay the mother larger sums than they do at present. Some charities do 
not give as a rule more than $1 per week for families, which of course is not enough to 
enable them to support the family adequately, even with what the families can earn 
themselves. 

Alderman Callaghan : Should the City give money to private charities giving reUef 
in homes and exercise very careful supervision over the expenditure thereof? 

Commissioner Hebberd : The City .should not give money to private charities giving 
relief in homes until pinvate charities admit they cannot raise the money necessary to 
look after families in their charge. 

Alderman Campbell: Can you give any figures of cost of children in institutions? 

Commissioner Hebberd : The City pays $2.10 per child per week for all children 
committed through the City departments to institutions ; and if they are cared for on 
the cottage plan 25 cents per week more per child. A good many of the private chil- 
dren's societies, however, pay money to families who board their children, if the 
children are kept in good condition. The City should pay at least 50 cents per week 
per child more in institutions which care for children on the cottage system since this 
would be a great incentive to them to go into the country where the children would be 
healthier and be better kept; $2.10 per child per week is not sufficient to meet the ex- 
pense of shelter, food, doctoring, clothing and teaching of children and the City is not 
paying enougn at present so that the children can be properly cared for. Most of the 
institutions are giving the City more than they are paid for and the State Board of 
Charities has supervision over all institutions which are drawing public money, and 
they cannot secure the funds or appropriation until they have a certificate from the 
State Board of Charities that the conditions are right and children or others well cared 
for. The Commissioner of Public Charities in New York City should, however, have 
some one who could visit these institutions more regularly and keep closer supervision 
over the children. The Brooklyn Howard Colored Orphan Asylum has difficulty in 
getting a sufficient support to care properly for children in its charge at the low rate 
paid by the City, but they have promised to move out to St. James, L. I. 

Unless an institution has a large enough endowment or Brothers and Sisters to 
serve without pay, they cannot afford to give children adequate care at $2.10 per child 
per week. 

Alderman Callaghan: In what condition are the hospitals in the City? 



227 

Commissioner Hebberd : They are also under supervision of the State Board of 
Charities if in receipt of public money. At least 1,200 cubic feet per patient is required; 
although the State Board of Charities decided to permit that to be reduced in certain 
hospitals to 800 cubic feet if superior ventilating conditions are provided. The City 
has not made any appropriation for the construction of buildings for some time, 
although the population is increasing at the rate of 150,000 a year and the number of 
sick and infirm to be cared for increases about 500 to 1,000 a year and the City must 
make large appropriations to catch up with the needs. 

Alderman Callaghan : Should hospitals except emergency hospitals be moved out 
of the City? 

Commissioner Hebberd : It is not feasible to do that for most hospitals, but 
Blackwells Island and Randalls Island should be kept for children and Flatbush 
Hospital in Brooklyn should also be improved with hospital parks for the sick. 

Penal institutions should be removed to Rikers Island and the workhouse to 
Harts Island. 

Penal institutions should be placed outside of New York City or on the islands. 

About $35,000,000 was spent in New York City by private and public charities last 
year, including expenditures by the State for public charities. 
Expenditures for Public Charities, including Department of Health and 

Bellevue and State Hospitals $15,000,000 00 

Expenditures for Private Charities about 20,000,000 00 

This estimate includes construction of buildings and interest on investments for 
various public and private charities. 

The policy of giving inadequate relief by private charities tends to keep people 
in congested districts. 

The Tenement House Law regarding overcrowding should be enforced as it is 
not enforced at present, and the City would then see what the result would be in 
diminishing overcrowding in the rooms. A few cases vigorously enforced would 
suffice to deter people from living several in a room. 

Commissioner Hebberd was asked whether the private charities not in receipt of 
public moneys should be under the control of the public authorities, but preferred not 
to commit himself on that point at present. 

The Hospital Commission Report suggests the provision of large yards for hos- 
pitals. 

Alderman Campbell: Are there any young men in the almshouse? 

Commisioner Hebberd : There are a few able-bodied men in the almshouse and 
there are opportunities for them to work on the farm. Any young men there are in 
some respect mentally deficient. 

B. Statement Submitted by Mr. Homer Folks, Secretary of the State Charities Aid 
Association, Formerly Member of the Board of Aldermen of New York City and 
Commissioner of Public Charities, 1902 to 1903. 

Chairman Callaghan asked Mr. Folks if he had prepared a statement to the 
questions which had been submitted to him and Mr. Folks replied that he had not done 
so, but said he had looked them over and would comment informally as follows : 

_ "The topics which you have asked me to speak on include a number of subjects on 
which the State Charities Aid Association has had no occasion to take any attitude 
on or to give any study to, and I will therefore speak not as Secretary of that organi- 
zation but entirely as an individual. 

Answering the first question as to what is the result of maintaining charitable 
institutions in congested districts where land values are high, my answer is that further 
congestion is the result, and congestion of a very serious kind in these institutions. 
I am more especially interested in the institution for the care of needy children and 
have no hesitation in saying that to keep these institutions in the congested portion 
of the City is an extremely unfortunate thing for the inmates of these institutions 
irrespective of any effect it may have on those portions of the City. As to land values, 
of that I do not feel qualified to speak, but as to the inmates of the institutions, I have 
given that matter considerable thought for a long time. We have some very good 
illustrations of institutions that have moved out and have rebuilt in the country where 
they can get plenty of land at a moderate price and where they can build on the 
cottage plan and the building on small farms and the directors secure individual atten- 
tion for each inmate there and bring each inmate there in closer relation with grown- 
up people who care for them and who are called House Mothers and House Fathers. 
I think it is the general belief of all institutions that the cottage plan is desirable. It 
is recognized by the City, as the Board of Estimate pay a larger sum per week to 
institutions that have adopted this plan. Among these are the St. Christopher's Home 
for Children at Dobbs Ferry, and the Orphan Asylum Society, which left Riverside 



228 

Drive and went out to Hastings, the New York Catholic Protectory in its country 
branch in the upper portion of Westchester, all have this plan, and the Hebrew 
Guardian Association is now rebuilding on the cottage plan in the country. 

The Catholic Protectory have a section of a large farm and are putting up some 
buildings on the modified cottage plan. My impressions are that there is nothing 
more serious than the congested conditions of some of these institutions in the sense 
of having such a large number of people in a very small area, as for instance the older 
portion of the New York Catholic Protectory. I think the situation is fully appreci- 
ated by the managers of these institutions and they would be glad if they could see their 
way clear to finance the new enterprise and move out to the country and rebuild on the 
cottage plan ; at least I know that some of the managers feel that way about it. 

(a) The evils of having a largo number of children in institutions in congested 
districts are of many kinds. There are those that are purely physical, there are those 
that relate to the normal development of the children, there are those that relate to the 
mental development and the impossibility of reproducing the kind of homelife_ they 
will have to live in subsequently, and the most serious of these in my judgment is the 
moral considerations, as the children do not have a chance to develop the affections in 
a purely normal way. 

Q. Should private charities be encouraged to continue institutions in such 
districts ? 

A. No, I think that where the City largely supports institutions, as_ it does in 
most cases, or even if it pays nothing at all, it is not only the proper thing for the 
City to use its influence to secure their removal to the country, but it is par-excellence 
the way to accomplish the result, and as the City has a great deal more at stake than 
anybody else as to the character of its future citizens, and as the surroundings and life 
of these children to-day have so much to do with the future character of these men 
and women, it is essentially the right thing for the City to use its_ influence to expedite 
the removal of such institutions to the country and insist upon its being done. I Co 
not mean by any harsh methods or through coercion. I would begin by calling on them 
for a statement as to whether they are planning to go to the country and when mey 
expect to go and by declaring that the City was in favor of the cottage sysem and 
urging upon these institutions to adopt it and that within_ a reasonable time, and then 
again later call upon them for a report of progress and if they have not in any way 
given the matter attention, or done anything further about adopting this plan, fix a 
time limit for them to do something in. 

Q. Why do charitable institutions remain in the City and desire to remain? 

A. Inertia. The fact that the managers can visit them more readily, that the 
parents of the children can visit them more frequently and that perhaps they had not 
heard about this other way of doing it very much and had not given the matter any 
consideration if they had heard. Then I think that no doubt that naturally they are 
waiting for their city property to increase in value so that it will enable them to buy 
and build ; some of our wealthiest charity institutions gained their wealth in that way. 

Q. What is the result of giving charity to the residents of congested districts 
and occupants of overcrowded rooms in such districts? _ ... 

A. If you mean the giving of private charity by private asociations, etc.. J 
would say that it all depends on how wisely it is given. In its best form, farni- 
lies should be removed from their overcrowded rooms and overcongested dis- 
tricts and forced to Kve under conditions which are healthy and sanitary. The 
giving of help in many cases should be dependent upon these people maintaining 
better standards of living and more sanitary conditions. The enforcement of 
rules for health and sanitary conditions should remain entirely on those getting 
relief. Relief giving does not have any effect either one way or the other, except 
as it is inadequate on one hand or adequate and with proper standards on the other. 

(b) As to that part of the question relating to sanitation, I think I should plead 
not having any particular knowledge on that, as I have never gone into the matter 
at all, and if I should have to consider this matter I would "call upon experts to 
advise me. Prof. C. E. Winslow of the City College is one very excellent authority- 
on that subject. 

Q. To what extent, if at all, do private charities,_ by inadequate relief to people 
living in congested districts and overcrowded rooms, increase the cost of the public 
charity of the City by making it possible for people to remain in congested quarters 
to their physical deterioration or impairment? 

A. That impUes a degree of knowledge of the different private charities which 
I do not possess. I do not know. I should believe, generally speaking, a reasonably 
high standard is maintained ; I have no means of knowing. 

Q. Are private charities able to meet the cost of providing decent or healthy 



229 

standard of housing for underpaid workers in congested quarters? If not, should 
the City renew its policy of giving relief to the poor in the homes' 

A. By private charities I take you to mean those that administer private funds. 
I believe that the state should exercise the power of inspection over all charitable 
institutions, whether public or private, where there is charity given, not only to pre- 
vent the waste of money, but more particularly to protect people from being in- 
jured. I am clear and strong on that, but I should not, however, think it desirable 
that the City or State should have the authority to lay down rules and regulations 
by which the private charities handling private funds should operate, but I think 
the power to inspect these institutions and careful reports made of the conditions 
found, and the publicity of this information would cure the evils, but I do not believe 
that we have better administration when we tie these people hand and foot by rules 
and regulations. No. I do not think that private charities are able to meet the cost 
of providing decent housing for underpaid workers, etc. At least they say they are 
not, and I am willing to take their word for it. I know, for instance, that the 
Hebrew Society have at times said that it was not able to give relief to those 
that came to it, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Brooklyn have stated that 
at times it was forced to stand by and see the children of widows committed to 
institutions, and the 'home in this way broken up when they would have liked to 
keep the home together by charity, but were unable to do so. 

I do not think that the City should re-establish a general outdoor relief sys- 
tem, and do not think we would be any better off with such a system than we are 
now, for the reason that so long that it is given as charity to all kinds of people 
needing relief, it will always be asked and those that really do need it will not 
ask for it, and those that will take advantage of it many times are not the most 
worthy of it, and the worthy poor will not apply. As to what they do in this respect 
in foreign countries, I do not know. ■ 

I do not think that this relief business should be broken up, and not necessarily 
that all should be treated alike. For instance, I think it is possible to treat a widow 
and her family in an entirely different way from others. That is a problem by itself. 
I think the time has come when we ought to consider the necessity of making some 
more adequate provision for widows in their homes. Now, of course, if private 
charity comes forward with a large amount for that purpose this might meet the 
situation, but it has not done so yet. I do not believe that the distribution of public 
funds to widows who meet certain other standards as to the character, etc., would 
be exposed to the evils that would be attached to a general outdoor relief system, 
and that it should be done on the basis, as far as practical, as to take it out of the 
realm of charity and approach as near as possible to an indemnity for the earning 
capacity of the husband, and I think this would be working along the right lines, 
and if the widow did not wish to make a public charge of her children she should 
be helped in this way to bring up her children as they would have been had the 
husband's wages continued, and the nearer we can come to making this method 
possible the more it would realize my standards and views. Of course this applies 
only to the respectable widow with children. If some plan could be worked out 
by which we could pension the widows or as an indemnity for the loss of the hus- 
band's earnings, I think you would find a good deal of support for that. It is a 
hard plan to work out, but I have no doubt but that it is the correct principle. 

Q. I think the only condition should be that she occupy quarters that comply 
with the minimum standards of air, space and light, but I would not say that she 
should go to the country, but that she should live in the proper kind of quarters as 
to light, windows, etc., which go to make sanitary conditions and healthy condi- 
tions, and I think it should be one of the provisions, however, that there should be 
no boarders in such quarters and some means outlined to make sure that this is 
complied with. 

Q. What is the ultimate result of giving relief to the poor in congested dis- 
tricts? 

A. The result of giving relief depends on how wisely it is given. I do not think 
it tends to reduce wages or increase congestion, if properly done, and I do not see 
how it increases land speculation. 

Q. What should be the relief policy of the city with respect to the care of 
widows with children now living in congested districts and overcrowded rooms? 

A. I am ready for the City or State, if the private charities do not come for- 
ward and do it, to see either the City or State provide for widows with children. 
I think it is time that widows with children should be provided for by the City 
or State, and I do not believe that a woman can be a mother and be wage earner and 
take care of the children at the same time, that is, if there are several children. 
Even if the children were sent to a Day Nursery in the daytime, I believe it would 



230 

be asking too much for a mother to take care of herself and two children continu- 
ally; she would break down, get tuberculosis, pneumonia or some other disease, 
and the City would be saving in the wrong place and eventually all become a bur- 
den on the charitable institutions. I think a woman can support herself and one 
child without any trouble. I think the private charities could take care of the 
Day Nurseries, because it does not take very much money. 
Q. Are Day Nurseries inspected by doctors? 

A. I do not know, but I think so. 1 think, however, that they should be under 
very close medical observation. 

Q. Would a law giving the City the right to send doctors in to inspect Day 
Nurseries be constitutional? 
A. I think so. 

Q. What jurisdiction has the State over private charitable institutions? 
A. To no extent, except to protect the health of the people in such institutions 
on the health side only. I think the City or State should insist upon a periodical 
examination of all children going to these institutions, the same as required by the 
public schools. I think this periodical examination of all children by good medical 
authorities could be enforced and should be, so that all children may be examined 
by a competent doctor before being admitted to such institutions, and periodically 
thereafter. 

Q. What would be the relief policy of the City with respect to underfed chil- 
dren in the public schools? 

A._ I have not given that _ question close enough study to enable me to speak 
about it, but I am willing to give my impressions upon it. I think it would be de- 
sirable that meals should be furnished at cost at the schools. I do not think they 
should be free. I think the giving of meals to such as cannot pay for same should 
be| treated as a charity problem, but would not make any difference between the 
meals furnished to the children. I think the meal should be furnished to all those 
that want to take it, and all who take it should pay for it, and if any cannot pay for 
it the funds for those should be provided by private charity, so that every meal should 
be paid for. 

Q. What would be the ultimate result of giving meals even at co^t? I was 
told by Miss Kittridge, who is connected with the Lunch Associations, the other day, 
that a difference of 1^/4 or 2 cents per meal would be more than the parents could 
afford. 

A. I do not think this would interfere in any way with the general problem. My 
preference is that the school itself should furnish the meal at cost. I do not 
particularly object to the meal being furnished by others, but I think it would be 
better if the school would do this. I am more interested in the children getting food 
and good food and the worth of their money rather than I am in just who does it. 
Q. Can the evils of congestion of population be alleviated or even mitigated 
more than temporarily by public or private charity, or are the landlords, the tenement 
sweater, the employers and those interested in immigration steamship lines, the rea^ 
and permanent beneficiaries of such relief? 

A. No. The question of distribution of population is not one to be settled by 
charity. Charitv has some effect on it. but only in a small way. 

Q. We asked a doctor connected with a charitable association why poor people 
did not move to the country, and he said they always, answered him when he asked 
this question that if they moved to the country they would not receive any help 
from the charitable institutions. 

Mr. Folks : I think congestion is such that it has to be met by other things than 
charity, by transportation, by ordinances as to where factories are allowed to be, 
etc., where fhe work is to be done, and while charity enters into it, of course, it 
is only in a very small way and is but a very small part of the congestion questior 
in my judgment. 

Q. Should New York City adopt the policy of some foreign cities and provide 
large farms with small industries, homes, etc., for its citizens who cannot maintain 
a decent standard in congested quarters with high land values, and train them on 
to self-support there? 

A. I should not think so. I think the City would be making a mistake to do 
this, to provide large farms and try to train them to be self-supporting there. I 
think it would be more likely to train them to be dependent. I think the question of 
trade teaching should be handled as an educational matter entirely and entirely 
divorced from the question of charitable support. I think we should go further 
than we do in our educational institutions ; we should be teaching children more 
manual training rather than so much drawing and art, etc. The only way for a boy 
to get a first-class manual training is for him to be so bad that he has to be sent 



231 

to a reformatory. I think this manual training is absolutely necessary with the high- 
est standard of practical education, and should be available for all children. 

Q. What would you do with the adults that have no training in any particular 
line, that is, the unskilled workmen of this City, of which there are 10,000 out of 
work in this City to-day? 

A. I should question your fact, unless in exceptional times. I should think there 
is, as a rule, a great deal of work for unskilled workmen in New York City, and 
always likely to be, as they are always digging subways, foundations, etc., and we 
always have a great deal of that sort of work to do. We should have classes to train 
men how to work in public schools if I had anything to do about it. I think it is 
a misconception if you mean to imply that there are as a rule a large number of 
able-bodied men who are willing to work and cannot get it and thus become the 
objects of charity. I have not had much of any success in discovering in the alms- 
houses people who are able to do any work; they are all pretty well maimed that 
are there; the able-bodied ones are not there; I did not discover any considerable 
capacity for labor there. 1 think those who are in the almshouse or such places 
are pretty well down and out in the physical sense. There are exceptional times, 
however, when the demand for work for able-bodied men is urgent and we have no 
sufficient provision to meet it. 

Q. What do you think of the question of giving privileges to sell fruits, papers, 
etc., on the streets and stands to people who are unable to do hard manual labor? 
A. I think well of that and also of making a ruling as to age for boys for 
messengers, etc., so that men would have to be employed. I think there is a good 
deal of work done by children that should and could be done by adults who cannot 
do other and heavier work. 

Q. At what age would you permit children to go to work m the private in- 
dtistrics ? 

A. At such an age that there would not be any children there at all. 
Q. Don't the 16-year age law apply now in the day time? 

A. Yes, I believe so, and the 21 for the night work for messenger boys, and 
while you may think this somewhat of a hardship on a number of children that may 
have to work. I believe it would be working a benefit for a large number. 

Q. If relief to immigrants in congested districts increases congestion, should 
legislation be enacted requiring private charities to report all relief given by them 
and making the application for such relief cause for deportation, or at least appli- 
cation a determined number of times? 

A. While I should question the premises and therefore throw out the con- 
clusions so as to speak, I do not think that relieving immigrants in congested dis- 
tricts increases congestion if properly done or given. Therefore, I should not favor 
legislation of this kind. I should favor the power of inspection of their work by the 
St°ate. I would not make the application for such relief a cause for deportation; T 
would not favor that. I would simply force them to live in conditions that are 
sanitary and in accordance with proper standards for health, and if you are helping 
these people you can force them to do these things, because if you are helping them 
you can give them to understand that you will do so only if they comply with these 
conditions and that they move into healthier quarters, and that you will help them 
to move into such quarters and remain in such quarters. Charity is expensive when 
well done and the question of congestion must be handled separately from the 
question of charity. I would not continue to allow them to live in such rooms as 
you say many of them are living in to-day. I would forbid the occupancy of such 
rooms as breed tuberculosis. 

In regard to the immigrant, I should not treat him differently from anybody 
else, because I think he is as well able to support himself as anybody else. I do think 
that immigrants are a whole lot better able to take care of themselves than we 
think they are. We excuse ourselves for all kinds of improper conditions that ought 
not to continue, by sajnng that we have so many immigrants here, but I do not think 
this is any excuse at all. 

Q. What would you do with the people that do not earn enough to maintain 
the standard? 

A. I think they can maintain the standard of living and the immigrant is not 
so much a cause of worry as we think he is. 

Q. You mean to say that an unskilled worker in this City can maintain the stand- 
ard and get work by cutting wages? 

A. That is a little beyond my depth, yet generally I would be inclined to answer 
in the affirmative, that he can get work, as there is lots of work to be done here 
as a rule. I am not speaking of exceptional conditions when there is much unem- 
ployment, but of what seems to me the ordinary conditions. 



232 

Chairman Callaghan : My experience is that the foreigner has more v/ork than 
the native. 

Secretary: Do you think there is plenty of work to go around? 

Mr. Flynn : No, I do not think there is work enough to go around, and an un- 
skilled laborer only makes about $1.50 per day, and he cannot maintain a family on 
that, and they cannot get the work unless they work for starvation wages. Labor is 
a commodity just the same as potatoes, when plentiful it is cheap, when scarce it is 
high. The foreman of a factory in New England told me once that it was the im- 
employed that regulated the price of wages. 

C. Stateme^it Submitted by Mrs. Florence Kelley, Secretary of the National Con- 

sumers' League. 

The whole administration of the charities in New York City, public and private, 
tends to produce congestion of population. The City gives charities the use of valu- 
able property which is exempt from taxation and these institutions keep their inmates 
in these congested districts until they get the increase of these valuable properties and 
the City by its present poHcy puts a premium on congestion. 

Children should be in the country and the City should not pay any money for 
the children who are being cared for in the City. 

Whenever the Board of Estimate and Apportionment grants money for charitable 
institutions in the City it should be on conditions that their Board of Managers should 
take active steps to remove from the City to the country within the next year. Some 
institutions train their inmates now in needle trades, which are congested trades. The 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment, however, has promised to investigate the 
result of giving municipal mone}^ to institutions in congested districts. The Hebrew 
Orphan Asylum now occupies $1,000,000 worth of tax exempt land. They train 
children, however, only for the congested life in the great City. The City permits the 
institution to get the increase in the value of the land. 

Alderman Callaghan: How many have been removed from the City? 

Mrs. Kelley: It is not definitely known. 

Alderman Callaghan: What brings the child back into the Citv^ 

Mrs. Kelley : The fact that the families live in the congested districts where the 
charitable societies pay their rent. 

Alderman Callaghan: Why do charities do this? 

Mrs. Kelley : Because if the family stays where the congestion is worst it can 
get work from the sweated districts at low pay. This tends to keep families in 
congested districts, otherwise they would go into less congested districts and healthier 
parts of the City. 

Private charitable societies are creating congestion in its worst form by assisting 
people to remain in congested districts. 

Alderman Callaghan: Should the City establish its own employment bureau? 
_ Mrs. Kelley : Yes, and it should run it free as every city and State should, and 
as is done in Germany. 

Alderman Callaghan: Would you abolish private employment agencies? 

Mrs. Kelley: If the City conducts good employment agencies this will result in 
driving out private agencies. 

Alderman Callaghan : Do you think that an effort should be made to have the 
immigration law amended so that those who are in receipt of public as well as private 
charity two or three times after having been here a certain time should be subject to 
deportation? 

Mrs. Kelley : It seems hardly human to return to the Pale of Russia people 
who have been driven out by the persecutions in that country. 

The Secretary: Do you think, however, that the fact that those families apply 
for relief frequently would justify the City in determining their location and in 
exercising further control? 

Mrs. Kelley: That seems entirely reasonable. 

D. Statement by B. Ogden Chisolm, Chairman Corlears District Committee, Charity 

Organization Society. 
At a_ recent meeting of the Corlears District Committee of the Charity Organiza- 
tion Society, the question of the high rents paid by the Italians was considered. 
The Committee discussed this subject at some length, especially the phase of it which 
brought out the facts that frequently so much rent was paid from the earnings of the 
breadwinner as to leave an insufficient amount for the purchase of the necessary 
food. Believing that you are desirous of obtaining information gathered by experts 
on the subject which your Commission is investigating, I was requested, as Chairman 
of the District Committee, to furnish some facts which might be of interest to you. 



233 

Roughly speaking, there are 81,140 Italians in the section east of Broadway and 
south of Houston street. These came largely from the southern part of Italy, from 
Sicily and the Neapolitan section, and live in three districts : 

First. — West of the Bowery from Houston street to Park row, and up the river 
front to Pike street. 

Second — In the district east of the Bowery from Houston to Canal street, 
bounded on the east by Allen street. 

Third — A rapidly growing section along the water front, north of Grand street, 
containing at present about 8,000 individuals. 

The contention is that the rents are large and that as a result the food supply 
for adults and children is insufficient for growth and efficient work. In many cases 
the families are forced for part of the year to become the recipients of private or 
public charity. This can be substantiated by the following facts gathered by_ workers 
living in the district, having expert knowledge of hundreds of Italian families . 

Wages. — The majority of the families live in two or three-room tenements, 
paying $9 to $16, the average being about $12.50 per month. The rent per room is 
about $5, with unsatisfactory toilet and water facilities. The wages are very largely 
those of a day laborer — from $1 to $1.75 a day. The men work as street cleaners, 
tailors, shoe-makers, barbers and operators in tobacco. _ The girls and boys are 
forced to work early and are employed largely in factories wh^re the wages range 
from $2.50 to $6 per week. As you doubtless know, a great number of the women are 
forced to do home work. This is characteristic of the whole section. They carry 
work to their homes where the workers find the conditions unsatisfactory, and the 
pay shockingly inadequate. Many of these tenements where such home work is done 
under unsanitary conditions are unknown to the inspectors. 

Food. — A careful investigation was made of the kinds of foods used by these 
families and in the majority of cases it was found that the diet was unsatisfactory 
for this Northern climate, consisting largely of vegetables, fish and bread, with little 
meat. Inquiry was made of the amount of food per individual and without exception 
the person gathering the statistics answered that the amount was insufficient for 
the growth of children and for satisfactory work on the part of adults. 

Many little children were suffering from malnutrition and many school children 
were found during the winter months when work was slack to be insufficiently nour- 
ished, and charitable and social workers have found it necessary for several years to 
render, during these winter months, a steadily increasing amount of private and 
public charity to such families. The interpretation of these facts seems to be that the 
amount of money spent for rent left an entirely inadequate amount for food, clothing 
and protection against the cold. 

It was further ascertained that the Italians spend a very small amount for 
amusements and that the money earned is used to an unusual degree in meeting 
necessary expenses of life. 

It has been further discovered that the vitality of school children of the Italian 
races in this part of the City is less than that of children of other races and of 
children in other parts of the City, and that largely because of the demands of the 
home boys and girls were forced to work as soon as their working papers could 
be obtained. 

The chief object of this communication is to emphasize the various conditions 
relating to the home, and we believe that it should lie within the power of your 
Commission to remedy them in some way. 

Our suggestions are as f ololws : 

First — That in many of the old houses for which the tenants pay ample rents, 
the owners should be compelled to improve them and make the sanitary arrangements 
satisfactory and furnish such apartments with a ready supply of water. 

Second — That some plan might be worked out by your Commission for the 
more regular equalization of work among the various classes so that the employment 
may spread over the entire year, which it does not seem to do at present, every one 
being overworked during the rush season, and there being much idleness during the 
off season. 

Third — That the building of lofts containing various kinds of manufactures em- 
ploying Italian men and women be suspended in the crowded districts on the east 
side and that further building of this kind be confined to the newer parts of the City, 
so that the working classes will be encouraged to establish themselves in these 
outlying districts. 



234 

E. Statement of W. Frank Persons, Superintendent of the Charity Organisation 
Society of The City of New York, to the Committee on Charities. 

The Secretary: Does the Charity Organization Society send to the country or 
elsewhere outside of the City dependent families who could be made self-supporting 
by such removal to places where there is available work? 

Mr. Persons: The Charity Organization Society finds it relatively difficult to 
move dependent families to the country or elsewhere outside of the City. This can 
seldom be done unless the family can be sent to neighborhoods in which relatives 
reside or close friends who are willing to give assurance that the family will not 
become dependent in its new, home. 

A majority of the important relief agencies throughout the country and many 
public relief officers have signed an agreement binding them not to transport a 
dependent family from one community to another v/ithout advance assurance that 
the family will not thereby be made dependent upon the charity of _ the_ community to 
which it goes. A just regard for the future welfare of the family, irrespective pi 
the interests of other communities, does not permit the society to send such families 
beyond its jurisdiction and oversight without adequate assurance that the change 
will be for their distinct advantage. 

There is some demand for the services of married couples on farms, but this is 
limited usually to those who have an actual experience in such work; naturally there 
are few such families in this City known to charitable agencies. 

Sickness exists on the part of one or more members in approximately two-thirds 
of all the families under the care of this society. Until health is restored, the family 
must be kept within reach of hospital or medical care. 

The demand for unskilled labor outside the City, for instance, on railroad con- 
struction, is usually for men who can live in the construction camps. Men who 
accept such employment are not able to take their families with them. In the nature 
of the case such work is temporary. 

All these conditions tend to prevent men with families removing their homes 
from the City, even though they accept such work. Homeless men or single men are 
placed in such employment outside of New York City much more frequently. In 
July of this year, 166 single men were placed in permanent work ; in June, 92 ; in 
May, 105 ; in April, 95, by the Joint Application Bureau. 

Any successful effort to secure the permanent removal of dependent families 
from the City to the country requires continuing oversight after the change of resi- 
dence has been made. There must be special organization and equipment for such 
work. It is attended necessarily with large expenditures for transportation, adminis- 
trative expenses and the relief needed until permanent self-support is assured. 

The Industrial Removal Office, 174 Second avenue, was established in 1900 to 
relieve the congestion in Jewish quarters in New York City and to divert Jewish 
immigrants from the large sea ports of the Atlantic Ocean to the interior. In eight 
years, 46,513 persons have been sent by this agency to over 1,000 towns and cities 
throughout the United States. All expenses were provided by the office, no charge 
being made for the beneficiaries. 

The Jewish Agricultural and Industrial Aid Society, 174 Second avenue, was 
organized in 1909 to assist and encourage Jewish immigrants to become farmers. T'his 
agency helps its beneficiaries to find suitable farms and grants loans on easy terms 
and at a low rate of interest toward the purchase of farms and for equipment. It has 
aided nearly 1,300 Jewish farmers in 24 States and in Canada, with loans aggregating 
over $600,000. 

The Baron de Hirsch Fund, 43 Exchange place. Room 705, was organized in 1891 
lor the benefit of Russian, Roumanian and Galician immigrants who have been in 
this country not longer than two years. Its purpose is to Americanize and assimilate 
the immigrants with the masses by teaching them to become good citizens and to pre- 
vent, by all proper means, their congregating in large cities. 

The North American Civic League for im.migrants was organized in Boston 
about two years ago. The New York Committee of the League had headquarters at 
32 East 22d street. The Committee proposes to undertake educational work, to 
study questions of transportation, the distribution of immigrants, to secure desirable 
legislation, and to carry out the recommendations of the Commission on Immigration 
of the State of New York, which was appointed by Governor Hughes in 1908. 

While it is doubtless of great advantage to the families concerned to remove 
them from congested districts to localities in which there are cheap rents, abundant 
labor, and relatively good wages, this eff^ort alone will not solve the problem of 
congestion in New York City. The number so removed must ever be small in 
relation to the whole number residing in such localities. Their removal does not 



235 



orevent other families moving into the same congested quarters to take their places. 

The Secretary: If the City should enforce the present law as to overcrowdmg, 
would it not drive many people below the dependent line; that is, it they were obhged 
to pay for twice as many feet of floor space and if they were already on the verge 
of dependency? . , , - r • 

Mr Persons : I can foresee no other result assuming that the expenses oi living 
are increased without a corresponding increase in the income of the family. 

Alderman Campbell : Does the Charity Organization Society receive requests for 
men to work on large construction projects on railroads? w ^t, 

Mr Persons- So far as I know such requests have never been addressea to the 
so-iety and if they were it would be difficult, as I have stated above, to send married 
men either with or without their families to take this kind of employment. 

F. Statement by Mrs. William Einstein, President Widowed Mothers' Fund Associa- 
tion, New York City. 
The manner in which private charity in New York (and New York is niainly 
typical of other States), h*d handled the problem of assisting the widow, hlls, in my 
opinion, one of the blackest pages in the history of philanthropic endeavor. 

Charity organizations dispose of the widow with children m this wise: it the 
woman is strong enough to work, she must furnish the mam support of the family 
and supplementary reUef is given. If what she earns and tne relief given prove 
insufficient, commitment of the younger children has been advised by the rehef agency. 
When the woman breaks down from overwork, the society helps _ her to place ner 
other children in institutions. The mother stays with friends or in a hospital until 
she recovers her strength; then, having only herself to provide for, no rebel is 
deemed necessary, and she is left to shift for herself. _ . , ,. , 

The records show that in the vast majority Qf instances the woman is obliged 
to spend the larger part of the day or night scrubbing floors, doing washing, or 
working in a factory— doing anything but mothering her children, who must take 
care of themselves usually upon the street. . , r r 

At the Conference of Charities last spring, the superintendent of one of our 
most efficient orphan asylums, submitted the results of a very comprehensive study 
of dependent families of widows being supported by three important charitable organ- 
izations in New York City. . . , x ^ t, • 

"These figures indicate that those pensioned (meaning widows) are not being 
adequately supported; that they are living in quarters congested altog.,ther beyond 
the dictates of health, morality and decency, that they are being compelled to eke out 
a living far inferior to that required by normal standards. The amount of relief 
given beyond the earnings of mothers and children is, in the cases assisted only by 
the private rehef society, barely sufficient to cover rent, and in other cases where 
co-operative efforts prevails, the amount of relief is very meagre, compared with the 
average size of the family." . . a j i i, 

A fitting chmax to the statement of the facts quoted m the opinion of Mr Adolph 
Lewisohn, President of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, uttered at the 
Washington Conference, one of the organizations involved in the comprehensive study 

above mentioned. , tt •. j c^ t » -a 

"The experience of philanthropic societies throughout the United btates, said 
Mr. Lewisohn, "is convincing that in the case of widowed mothers, if the mothers 
were given ample subsidy, there would be no necessity whatever of placing their 
children either in institutions or foster homes. In this we have an exceptionally 
simple solution of the children problem by caring for the children, not m institutions, 
not in foster homes, but with their own mothers, who can give them the parental love 
and the parental attention whose value is incalculable and which cannot be obtained 
for them in any other wav." • r -t^i j 

The failure of private charity to cope with the situation is forcibly summed up 
by Mr. Robert W. Hebberd at a recent hearing of the New York Commission on 
Congestion: "Private charities claimed some time ago that outdoor public relief 
in New York City was a bad thing, detrimental to the public interest, and secured its 
abolition, claiming that they could meet the needs. ]t would be better for private 
charities to come out now and say that they are not fulfilling the bill m this respect. 
Mr. Hebberd adds the significant remark : "The poHcy of giving inadequate relief by 
private charities tends to keep people in congested districts." _ u ■ 4. 

In contrast with the conditions obtained in this country, it may "'^t "c amiss to 
note how European countries have recognized the special needs of the widowed 
mother and what is being done to relieve them. i, j r 

In some of the cantons of Switzerland Miss Jane Addams stated the rnethod ot 
relieving the widowed mother with children eliminates every hint of dependency and 



236 

makes "pauperizing" impossible. Every child of a widow, who is of school age. at 
the end of a successful week in school, receives a scholarship from the Canton. The 
money is given as a scholarship and the child takes it home to its mother, not because 
he is the recipient of charity, but because the law-givers of Switzerland having found 
it to the advantage of the state that a child should go to school when he is under 
fourteen years of age, quite as much as it is to the interest of the state that a child 
after a certain age should be at work. . • ... 

In Berne, children are boarded with their widowed mothers; strict supervision is 
kept, and if the children are found to be ill-treated or neglected, the parent may be 
sent to the penal workhouse. 

In Zurich, the municipality has organized a regular bureau to watch over poor 
school children and see that they are well cared for. If a widow has more children 
than she can support, her rent is paid, bread and milk bill, too, and, she receives 
presents of food and clothing. All this without being placed on the pauper list, nor 
does the mother feel that she is the recipient of charity. 

AustraUa has derived a very safe and sane plan for the relief of fatherless 
children who have mothers living. The State Charities Department boards the 
children with the mother, paying her a certain sum for each child. To properly safe- 
guard the children from possible mismanagement the mother is placed under the care 
of local ladies' visiting committees, composed of groups of volunteer workers or 
friendly visitors, and is subject to the same regulation and strict supervision as are 
provided for the protection of children boarded out with strangers. 

There is no fear of pauperizing in Australia because the care of the children of 
widows, in fact, of all dependent children, has come to be regarded as educational 
rather than as charitable. This is in line with the trend of modern philanthropy, 
being wholly preventional in character. 

In Vienna the Poor Board allows the widow with more than one child 6 to 10 
kronin per week for each offspring. 

Even little Denmark has kept pace with the times. From public funds relief 
is granted to widows from $14 to $24 per month, quite an adequate allowance when 
we consider the purchasing power of money in that country. In the case of widows 
of railroad employees, the government, which controls the roads, allows two-thirds 
of the husband's salary during her life. 

In Germany industrial accident insurance, which is carried on mutually by the 
■employers, by the workman, and the funds of the empire, has proved a post effective 
way of insuring the mother against dependency when the breadwinner is taken from 
the home. Hundreds of thousands of children have been provided for without the 
least taint of charity. 

In each of these countries the state has presumably realized that the_ destitute 
widow with small children presented a problem that was too big and too important 
to abandon to the chance of private charity. 

We can no longer neglect the crying need of the children, was the keynote of the 
Children's Conference in Washington. The keynote of the structure we are trying to 
erect is the crying need of our widowed mothers. To keep the home intact and avoid 
commitment is our policy. Every family in our charge is granted a sufficient allowance 
to permit the mother to stay at home and devote herself to the care of her children. 
The reHef is also permanent, that is, until one or more of the children can support 
the family. Our work is hoarding in children with their mothers instead of hoarding 
out children with foster mothers. We endeavor to raise the standard of living by 
ample subsidy, by removal to less congested districts and into more commodious and 
b.etter appointed homes, by elimination of lodgers, and by expert and friendly advice 
we lead them to a better and more intelligent ordering of their lives. In the case 
of families having a small income, the association supplies the difference between the 
rating of its standard of proper housing and feeding and the amount the family can 
«arn in its handicapped condition. 

To save itself from bankruptcy, the private relief society must ultimately admit 
that it is incapable of coping with the situation. Then we shall have to choose between 
the barbarous, merciless breaking up of good families and the lawful intervention of 
the State. But it cannot be denied that the lioine and not the orphan asylum is the 
foundation of society, that its own mother and not the foster mot\vQv can be of most 
service to the child in its development. The most precious of our natural resources, 
the family, is the fundamental social institution, and the State, _ therefore, is the 
logical and the only competent and adequate agency to aid the widowed mother in 
bringing up her children. 

In 1897 a bill was introduced in the New York legislature authorizing the Comp- 
troller to pay for the maintenance of children of mothers compelled by poverty to 
demand their commitment, the money to be transmitted to the woman throi.igh the 



237 



agency of a well-known children's society. The bill was violently opposed by private 
charity officials, as some of you may remember, but it is noteworthy that the vigorous- 
objections then raised were against the feniis of _ the _ proposed statute which was 
admittedly objectionable, and not against the principle involved. 

The State Charities Aid Association in its resolutions condemning this bill con- 
cluded thus : 

"Resolved, That we hereby desire to place on record our convictions, that children 
should not be committed to institutions for the sole reason that their parents are 
destitute, except as a last resort, and that cases of hardship should be_ obviated so far 
as possible through a more efficient co-operation between private relief-giving chari- 
ties and committing authorities and not through outdoor relief." 

Causes of Poverty. 
Since poverty is recognized as a cause of congestion and room-crowding, it 
seems appropriate to study some of the causes of .poverty. Dr. Edward T. Devine, 
General Secretary of the New York Charity Organization. Society, in studying the 
causes of poverty, which has resulted in application for relief to their society by 5,000- 
families, gives the following statement regarding the disabilities existing in these 
families. He states, morover, "these are, in the main, American families, either by 
birth or long residence; they are not, therefore, as a body, laboring under the dis- 
advantage of recent arrival in the country, and in this respect they differ from some 
of the other groups of dependent families in New York City." 

The Principal Disabilities Present in Five Thousand Families in New York City Under 
the Charge of the New York Charity Organization Society. 

Number of 
Disabilities. Individuals Families Per 

Affected. Number. Cent. 

1 Unemployed 4,424 3,458 69. 16 f Based 

2 Overcrowding 2,014 44.68-1 on Cases. 

3 Widowhood .... 1,472 29.44 [ Studied.. 

4 Chronic physical disability, other 

than tuberculosis or rheumatism 1,603 1,365 27.30 

5 Temporary physical disability, other 

than accident or childbirth 1,158 984 19.68 

6 More than three children under 

fourteen .... 944 18.88 

7 Intemperance 1,000 833 16.66 

8 Less than 5 years in New York City .... 814 16.28 

9 Tuberculosis 675 619 12.38 

10 Desertion and persistent non-sup- 

port .... 606 12.12 

11 Head of family sixty years old, or 

more .... 599 11.98 

12 Laziness, shiftlessness, etc 667 588 11.76 

13 Childbirth 363 363 7.24 

14 Rheumatism .' 359 347 6.94 

15 Immorality 337 256 5.12 

16 Mental disease, defect or deficiency 267 248 4.96 

17 Cruelty, abuse, etc 229 221 2.42 

18 Accident 201 198 3.96 

19 Untruthfulness, unreliability 210 194 3.88 

20 Criminal record 161 151 3.02 

21 Violent or irritable temper, etc 148 140 2.80 

22 Waywardness of children 160 129 2.58 

23 Disposition to beg 134 117 2.34 

24 Child labor (generally not illegal) . 45 42 0.84 

25 Gamblinj^^^^^^^^ 22 22 0.44 

Overcrowding. 
According to the standard we have adopted, more than one and one-half persons 
to a room, we must assume that none of our 539 single men and women, each of 
whom has at least one room, is overcrowded, while twenty-five per cent, of the 867 
families consisting of two persons, often a man and a wife, or a mother and child, in 
a furnished room, are overcrowded. In the case of these two groups, single persons 
living alone and two persons in a furnished room, the standard is of comparatively 



238 

little value. There are sufficient serious objections to the furnished room dwelling, 
but excessive overcrowding is, perhaps, not especially conspicuous among them. After 
we reach the families with three members, however, we find a steady increase of 
overcrowding, as is to be expected with the increase of the size of families, as families 
of five members are overcrowded in a larger proportion of instances than famiUes of 
six. Nearly all of the families with eight, nine or ten members are overcrowded accord- 
ing to our standard, and all of these with more than this number, with a single excep- 
tion of a family of fourteen occupying ten rooms. 

The Charity Organization Society states that on November 1, 1909, there was 
sickness in 713, over one-half of the 1,376 families in their charge. 

United Hebrew Charities. 

_ The United Hebrew Charities gives the following as the primary causes of appli- 
cation at the time first application was made during the fiscal year ending September 
30, 1910: 

Causes of Distress. 

Sickness (exclusive of tuberculosis) 2,221 

Tuberculosis 1,073 

Unemployment 1,348 

Insufficient earnings 767 

Non-support 7 

Widowhood 973 

Desertion 708 

Old Age 339 

Accident 128 

Imprisonment 87 

Mental Defects 39 

All others 1,593 

_ Of these ("all others") 1,593 cases, 594 were not cases of distress, but cases in 
which returns were rnade by the applicants on loans previously granted to them. 

The following brief summary of the work of the United Hebrew Charities for 
the year ended September 30, 1910, is very significant : 

To 929 widows having 1,579 children under 14 years of age $66,930 00 

To 526 families in which tuberculosis was cause of distress 32,575 00 

To 2,760 families whose distress was due to sickness, old age, accident 

or unemployment 124,044 00 

For clothing, coal, medical supplies, furniture, transportation, etc 25,035 00 

To help people become self-supporting 9,991 00 

Total, 4,235 families received $258,575 00 

All this is exclusive of work done by constituent sisterhoods, who aided 1,420 
more families, among whom they distributed about $100,600, of which amount subsidies 
from the United Hebrew Charities aggregated $26,025; total disbursed by United 
Hebrew Charities in material relief, $284,600. 

We found permanent employment for 71 handicapped persons. 

We made 65 women partly or wholly self-supporting through our splendidly 
equipped work room. 

Administration expense was 14 per cent, of the total disbursements less than one- 
half of the largest non-Jewish org-anizations doing similar work. 
Number of families applying for aid to United Hebrew Charities for fiscal 

year ending September, 1910 9,283 

Number of individuals represented in above 43,821 

It will be noted that the Society itself gave in relief of various kinds total of 
$284,600 to 4,235, or an average of $6,720; while the constituent sisterhoods gave 
about $74,000 to 1,420 more families, or an average of $52.11. 

The Society note that their administrative expenses were only 14 per cent, of the 
total disbursement, less than one-half of the largest non-Jewish organisation doing 
similar work. 

Summary of "The Danish Poor Relief System" by Edith Sellers. Prepared for 
the Committee on Charities of The New York City Commission on Congestion 
OF Population. 

Administration. 
In all Denmark, except Copenhagen, the administration of all poor relief, both 
old age as well as pauper._ is vested in the local authorities to whom are attached paid 
officials and honorary officials. 

In Copenhagen, with its population of about 500,000, the administration of poor 



239 

relief is entirely in the hands of paid officials and vested in a department presided 
over by the Third Section Burgomaster, appointed to office by the Municipal Council, 
subject to the veto of the king. 

For poor law purposes the city is divided into twelve districts, arranged in three 
groups of four districts each. Each district is under the care of a District Superin- 
tendent, and a group is under that of a Group Inspector. Both the Superintendents and 
the Group Inspectors are always specially trained and devote all their time to their 
work. A Local or District Superintendent has nothing to do with old age reUef, or the 
public charities, it is only pauper relief that he distributes. 

The Group Inspector is directly responsible to the Burgomaster for the Poor Law 
administration of his four districts, he watches over the Superintendents and revises 
their accounts, and is chief of the Special Bureau that administers the Old Age Relief 
Law. 

General Principles. 

The fundamental principle of the Danish Poor Law Relief is that every desti- 
tute person has a right to relief, and almost equally fundamental principle is that 
those who require relief through no fault of their own should have better relief than 
those who through their own laziness, wastefulness, drunkenness or wantonness, are 
in need of relief, the former class are entitled to reHef, the latter class are paupers. 

The distinction is vital and obtains throughout the entire system of Danish 
relief. 

Denmark prefers to spend money on warding off pauperism rather than on re- 
lieving paupers. 

The most important features of the Danish Poor Relief System. 

L The classification of paupers. 

2. The poorhouse. 

3. The workhouse. 

4. The penal workhouse. 

5. The treatment of children. 

6. The old age relief law. 

7. The destitution test. 

8. Outdoor pensioners. 

9. Old age homes. 

Every town or commune is primarily responsible for its own poor alone. 

Pauper reUef is regarded in Denmark not as a gift, but a loan, and the one re- 
ceiving it becomes a debtor to the community. Any man who leaves his family un- 
provided for may, if they obtain rehef, be treated as a pauper and sent to the work- 
house, even if he has refused to apply for or accept relief. Persons in Denmark can 
be forced to go not only to a penal workhouse, but to an ordinary workhouse. 

1. The Classification of Paupers. 

The Poor Law Act of 1891 requires local authorities "to take measures to secure 
that destitute persons be not left without the necessaries of life or, in case of illness, 
without proper treatment and nursing." They must house these persons, feed them, 
clothe them and tend them, unless they prefer to provide them with the money with 
which to do these things themselves, but the poor law authorities have practically a 
free hand to carry out their duty in their own way. They may not "farm" out the 
paupers nor send them to live in turn with each of the rate-payers. 

The Poor Law authorities decide where a pauper should live, whether in his own 
district or another, or in a workhouse, and in which one of the three grades of the 
workhouse. 

Even if the local authorities grant him out-relief he is under their control. If 
admitted as a pauper to the workhouse, he cannot go in and out, but may, under proper 
arrangements for appeal, be detained. 
2. The Poorhouse. 

The Poorhouse in Denmark is reserved for the respectable and those either old 
or incurably invalided, and as a convalescent home for the feeble. Widows with 
children are sometimes sent here also, but the disreputable are not permitted to be 
placed in the poorhouse, nor are imbeciles. The poorhouse at Copenhagen stands in 
a beautiful garden and has accommodations for 2,000 people, men living on one side 
of the house and women on the other, while twenty-four rooms are reserved for mar- 
ried couples, and a wing for incurables. There are three classes : 

(a) The very respectable, who have just missed ranking as pensioners. 

(b) The fairly respectable. 

(c) The third class who have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. 
This third class have no privileges or freedom, but can get promoted by their own 
good behavior, just as those who do not conduct themselves properly in the higher 



240 

classes are put into this third class. No one is obHged to work, but if they do work 
they are paid for it. 

3. The Workhouse. 

The workhouse is of two kinds. In one the inmates work on the land, in the other 
they are employed in workshops. In Denmark all paupers above eighteen (18) may 
be sent to a workhouse, and as a general rule if able-bodied are sent there. Even in 
these institutions a classification is made, and the better behaved secure recognition. 
The inmates are encouraged to look for work and are paid for work they do in the 
institution, laut all are obliged to do something. In both classes of workhouses, that 
is in those to which the confirmed loafers as well as merely the paupers are sent, there 
are workshops of every kind, all carefully organized and managed by industrial ex- 
perts, according to the most approved modern principles. Tailoring, shoemaking, 
carpentering, bookbinding, weaving, glass blowing, metal working and locksmiths' 
work are always carried on in the two workhouses in Copenhagen, as well as usually 
paper hanging, painting and building. (The system seems very similar to that of the 
Elmira Reformatory.) 

4. The Penal Workhouse. 

The penal workhouse is maintained primarily for the benefit of professional 
loafers, vagrants, etc., men and women alike. A penal workhouse is usually main- 
tained jointly by several communes, and since 1891 they have succeeded in practically 
eliminating vagrancy. Even here the occupants are required to work productively and 
must keep half of what they earn until the time comes for them to leave the institu- 
tion. 

5. Care of Children. 

The weakest part of the Danish poor law system is the fact that children are 
kept in some poorhouses temporarily until other arrangements are made for them. All 
children, however, who are supported by the community, whether living with their 
parents or not, are, until they are eighteen, under the direct guardianship of the au- 
thorities, who have the right to remove them, if necessary, from their parents. Many 
children are, however, relieved in their homes with their parents, and all others, where 
suitable homes can be found for them, are boarded out, if possible, with someone 
who keeps a cow. An interesting interchange of country and city children is obtained 
by the custom of sending thousands of workingmen's children from the ctities down 
into the country during the summer, while during the winter the children of the hosts 
during the summer are sent into Copenhagen as the guests of parents whose children 
have been cared for by them during the summer. This is not under the poor law,, 
however, and the railroads give free transportation to the children. 

6. The Old Age Relief Law. 

Denmark deals firmly with the young who will not work in order that it may deal 
justly, too, with the old age who have tried and done their best to support themselves, 
but have not been able to save even a competence. In the same session in which the 
Danish legislature passed the Poor Law Reform Bill enabling the authorities to deal 
sternly with the vagrant it passed also the Old Age Relief Bill, by which the aged re- 
spectable poor were removed once for all from the jurisdiction of the Poor Law and 
a special system of relief was instituted for their benefit. 

"By this law, if a Danish subject who has completed his sixtieth year is 'unable' 
to provide himself or those dependent on him with the necessaries of life or with 
proper treatment in case of illness, he may, if he choose, instead of applying for pauper 
relief, apply for old age relief. For this relief to be granted to him however : 

(1) "He must not have been convicted of any crime, or of any transaction gen- 
erally accounted dishonorable, in respect of Avhich he has not received rehabilitation. 

(2) "His poverty must not be the consequence of any action by which he, for the 
benefit of his children or others, has deprived himself of his means of subsistence, and 
it must not be caused by a disorderly or extravagant mode of life, or be in any way 
brought about by his own fault. 

(3) "For the ten years preceding his application for old-age relief he must have 
had a fixed residence in the country ; and during that time he must not have 'received 
pauper relief, or have been found guilty of vagrancy or begging. 

(4) "Also, this clause, it must be noted, did not "form part of the law in its original 
form ; it was added to it in 1902, 'he must not have led a life such as to cause scandal, 
he must not have been convicted of drunkenness or of immorality.' 

"In order to obtain old age relief, in fact, an applicant must prove that he be- 
longs to the respectable poor class, and that his poverty is owing to his misfortune, 
not his fault. If in this he succeeds he takes rank as a pensioner; otherwise he falls 
under the jurisdiction of the Poor Law, and becomes a pauper. Thus the aged poor 



241 

in Denmaik are now divided into two distinct classes, the pensioners and the paupers, 
the deserving and the undeserving; and the two classes are kept entirely apart _ 

When this law was passed in 1891 three-quarters of the workers in rural districts 
were earning less than $120 a year. .-,11 1 

In Copenhagen the administration of the Old Age Reform Law is in the hands 
of three Group Inspectors, each of whom has his own staff of assistant officials, and 
his own Bureau quite apart from the ordinary Poor Law Bureau. 

The terms for granting this relief are quite strict. In 1892 the first year the law 
was in force, out of 5,339 applications for old age relief that were sent m 1,019 were 
refused whereas in 1903, out of the 1,358 applications sent m, only 158 were rejected. 
Any applicant living in a town whose claim to old-age reUef is refused, has the 
right to appeal to the Minister of the Interior, if hvmg in a rural commune to the 
Chairman of the County Council. 

The Burgomaster, with the help of the Old Age Committee (composed of a 
Burgomaster, a member of the municipal Council and the three Group Inspectors), not 
only decide who shall receive old-age relief, but a so what form it shall assume, for 
the law gives them latitude in this respect and stipulates that _the_ relief granted, may be 
o-iven in money or in kind, as circumstances require, or consist m free admission to a 
suitable asylum or other establishment intended for the purpose. When applicants 
have become pensioners, the three inspectors become their guardians and see that they 
conduct themselves properly, for if any of them, after receiving old age relief, com- 
mit any action which if committed before would have prevented receiving it such as 
drinking or squandering their money, they forfeit rank as _ pensioners and become 
paupers A man also forfeits rank as pensioner if , after he is granted old age relief 
he marries and in consequence requires more relief. In rural districts the administra- 
tion of the old age relief law is under the control of the Chairman of the County 
Council, and in towns under that of the Minister of the Interior. 

Form of Application for Old Age Relief. 

Old-Age Relief. No. 

Schedule A. For Men and Unmarried Women. 

Application for Old-Age Relief under the Law of April 9, 1891, to Commune of 
Copenhagen, from 
Full Name and Position. 

Sn^^'- i" Parish ■ County. 

The following questions must be answered as fully as possible; and certificate.^; 

of identity and other documents procurable by the applicant m confirmation of the 

statements made, must be enclosed. . Ji ;„ ^.u:^ 

1 Has the applicant during the last ten years resided uninterruptedly in this 
country? And if so, where? And for how long in each place? 

2 Has the applicant during the last ten years received any kind of pauper reliet 
for himself, or his wife, his legitimate or illegitimate children, adopted children or 
step-children; and if he has. in what form? When was it given and by what com- 

"^""3." Has the applicant during the last ten years been convicted of vagrancy or 

^^^4"* Has the applicant ever been convicted of any crime? If so, when and of 

"" ^S.'^^'which Commune does the applicant consider the Commune from which he 

*^ ^6^ The number of the members of the family, and the age of each member of 

Do^es^the applicant live alone, or with relatives, or others? If with others, with 

^ Schedule B. For Widows and Divorced or Separated Wives does not differ 

materially from Schedule A. u ^t u;^ 

8. (a) What is the occupation of the applicant, and also of the members ot his 

family? 

(b) The approximate total amount of the income of the applicant and of the 
members of his family for the last year? . . 

(c) How much of this income is derived from a pension, or annual allow- 
ance, interests, legacies, real estate, gifts, or similar sources of mconie? 

9. Has the applicant any prospect of aid from relatives or others? Or has he 
any expectation of any inheritance? 



242 

10. The property of the applicant? (Capital, real estate, right to yearly allow- 
ance, chattels, outstanding claims, etc., stating the approximate value.) 

11. The debts of the applicant? 

12. What was the applicant's house rent during the last year? 

13. The cause of the applicant's poverty? Full information concerning the 
health of himself and his wife, and their capacity for work, etc. 

14. What amount of relief does the applicant require, and in what form would 
he wish the relief to be given? 

15. Other information which the applicant himself deems it necessary to give. 

T hereby declare that to the best of my belief all the answers given to the above 
questions are correct and given without reservation, and in such a form as to be in. 
accordance with the truth. 

Date. 

Signature. 

Residence. 

We, the undersigned, who are personally acquainted with the circumstances of 
the applicant, certify that his poverty is not the consequence of any action by which 
he, for the benefit of his children or others, has deprived himself of his means of 
subsistence; and that it has not been caused by a disorderly or extravagant mode of 
life, or been in any way brought about by his own fault. 

Date. 

Signatures. 

Residences. 

N. B. — That the relief which it may be necessary to grant the applicant before 
the question of his claim to old-age relief has been finally settled, will be considered 
as pauper relief should this claim be refused. 

The first declaration is signed of course by the applicant himself, and the second 
by two rate-payers who know him personally, and are acquainted with his circum- 
stances. Should the form when handed in be found to contain any false statement 
on the part of the applicant, he forfeits forever any claim he may have had to rank as- 
a pensioner, and may be sent to prison for a fortnight. His witnesses, too, are pun- 
ished, unless they can prove that they had good reasons for beheving that the state- 
ments to which they testified were true. 

7. The Destitution Test. 

The Danish law provides that in order to obtain old-age relief an applicant must 
be "without the means of providing himself or those dependent on him, with the 
necessaries of life, or with proper treatment in case of illness," and when the law 
first came into force certain jurists claimed that this meant that if he had any little 
savings he must spend them Isefore relief could be given him. 

The Minister of the Interior decided however that this would merely put a 
premium upon thriftlessness. In 1902 the law was amended so that for old-age 
relief the local authorities "must leave out of consideration any income or house 
accommodation he may possess from private sources up to the value of 100 kroner"' 
(about $29 a year), and they are also allowed if they deem it advisable to leave out 
of consideration any income he may have from an annuity, a legacy, a pension, or 
any dwelling accommodation which he may possess up to an equal amount. _ If he 
has received any pauper relief during the ten years that precede his application for 
old-age relief he is ineligible for such relief 

8. Outdoor Pensioners. 

Although the law permits local authorities to determine whether old-age relief 
shall be given in money or kind, or consist in admission to some suitable asylum the 
law requires that the pension they give "shall be sufficient for the support of the per- 
son relieved and of his family and for their treatment in case of illness." 

The custom is to give these adequate allowance or old-age pensions to such pen- 
sioners as are either strong enough to take care of themselves, or have relatives or 
friends, able and willing to take care of them. In each separate town or commune the 
local authorities determine what is "sufficient for the support of the person reheved"; 
this of course varies from town to town. 

In Copenhagen, the average old-age pension is about $47 for a married couple 
and $38.25 for a single person, while in rural districts is respectively about $30 
and $22. . . 

In addition the pensioners receive in case of illness medical attendance, medicme 
and whatever else the doctor orders for them. Most of the pensioners, too, either 
have some supplementary income or are able to earn a little. 



243 

9. Old-Age Homes. 

So long as pensioners are fairly vigorous they generally prefer to live ir their 
own homes. When they are too feeble to do this however they have recourse tc old- 
age homes. These are reserved exclusively for old-age pensioners, and no paupers 
are admitted on the principle stated by the Director of the Copenhagen Poor Depart- 
ment. "It is sheer waste of time and money trying to make decent old folk com 
fortable, if you shut them up with folk that are not decent." 

The pensioners are taught to look upon these homes as their right, so long as 
they conduct themselves properly. Instead of great dormitories all the inmates sleep 
(in the Copenhagen home) in bedrooms accommodating two, three, five or a maximum 
of six persons, while the smoking rooms and sitting rooms are common _ property. 
Each married couple has a separate room. Their food is nutritious but simple and 
tasteful. 

The institution is in the midst of a great garden. 

Statistics. 

On January 1, 1893, when the law had been in force one year, 30,957 persons 
were in receipt of old-age relief, and they had dependent on them chiefly wives — 12,869 
more, or a total of 43,826. On January 1, 1902, there were in all Denmark 44,118 
pensioners, 6,593 belonged to Copenhagen, and 28,462 to rural communes. In 1891 the 
population of Denmark proper was 2,449,540, and approximately 1.8 per cent, of the 
total population, and 17.8 per cent, of the population above 60 were in receipt of 
old-age relief, or counting the dependents, nearly one-fourth of the population over 
60 years of age, and about 2 1-2 per cent, of the total population. 

The total cost of old-age relief in Denmark in 1901, counting administration as 
well as relief, was about $1,534,150. 

r^OREiGN City Farm Colonies. 
In foreign countries Municipal Farm Colonies are usually a part of a system, there 
being several or at least one. state colony and the city institutions related to these. 

An important Labor Colony is the one conducted by London at HoUesley Bay, 
described by Mr. W. H. Beveridge. 

"The first is the attempt to remove men altogether from the urban labor market 
by training for new occupations on the land. The most noteworthy example of this 
is the farm colony established by the London Unemployed Fund in February, 1905, at 
Hollesley Bay, in Suffolk. This colony, which has now been purchased by the Central 
Body for London, comprises a total area of 1,300 acres, 600 being arable, 250 heath 
and the residue pasture, woodland, etc., and has living and sleeping accommodations 
for nearly 350 persons. At its commencement three main objects were laid down: 
"1. The provision of special work for periods of exceptional distress. _ 
"2. The provision of more continuous work for men who are not only in excep- 
tional need of work, but who either have already lived upon the land, or show a 
marked aptitude for country life. 

"3. The establishment of suitable men and families in agricultural or other rural 
industry, in various forms, e. g. : 

"(a) Ordinary farm situations, preferably in districts where wages and condi- 
tions are good and where a movement towards small holdings, allotments, market 
gardening, co-operative farming, etc., is developing. • 

"(b) Market gardening or ordinary gardener's situations. 

"(c) The establishment of small holdings in the neighborhood of the colony or 
elsewhere (either with or without some intervening period of service elsewhere under 
'a' or 'b')- This will be the hope held out to the picked men on the colony. 
"(d) Emigration." 
In the administration of the colony, emphasis has been more and more laid on the 
third object and particularly on the establishment of men on co-operative small hold- 
ings. The Central Body has not, however, been able itself to establish small holdings, 
the Local Government Board having ruled that this was a purpose outside the scope 
of the Unemployed Workmen Act, and great difficulties have been experienced in plac- 
ing the men elsewhere. "The settlement of men in ordinary _farm_ situations, para- 
graph 3 (a), or in market gardening or ordinary gardener's situations, paragraph 3 
(b), has proved in most cases impossible. Consequently, the only considerable outlet 
for the men trained at Hollesley Bay has been that mentioned in paragraph 3 (d), i. e., 
emigration." (Note, pp. 181 and 182.) 



244 



Statement of Number of Public and Private Societies and Organizations in New York 
City Dealing With Different Classes in 1907. 
(Prepared by the New York Charity Organization Society.) 
In 1908 the total number of societies in the City, including all those receiving 
state or municipal aid, was 2,868; in 1909, 2,566. 



Classified List. 



Manhattan Bklyn 

and and Rich- 
Bronx. Queens, mond. 



38 



116 


59 


1 


82 


12 


3 


80 


9 


3 


15 


3 




2 






36 


3 




30 


3 




54 


1 


1 


10 


1 


1 



475 



91 



74 
10 


29 
4 


2 
1 


9 


3 




93 


36 


3 



Class I. Care and Relief of Needy Families in Their 
Homes — 

Div. 1. Relief by Employment 

Div. 2. Feed, Fuel, Clothing and General Relief, includ- 
ing Transportation 

Div. 3. Day Nurseries and Kindergartens 

Div. 4. Fresh- Air Charities 

Div. 5. Legal Aid and Advice 

Div. 6. Relief for National Calamities 

Div. 7. Relief for Foreigners 

Div. 8. Special Relief for Various Classes, Callings, 
and Professions 

Div. 9. Nursing and Care of the Sick in their homes. . . . 

Div. 10. Burials 

Total 

Class II. Relief for Destitute, Neglected and Delinquent 
Children — 

Div. 1. Asylums, Homes and Cheap Lodgings for Chil- 
dren 

Div. 2. Children's Societies 

Div. 3. Children's Courts, Probation Work and Refor- 
matories for Children 

Totals 

Class III. Relief in Permanent and Temporary Homes 
for Adults— 
Div. 1. Municipal, State and National Home for Des- 
titute Adults ■ 

Div. 2. Private Homes for Adults 

Div. 3. Situations with Free Board, also with Free and 
Cheap Lodgings 

Totals 

Class IV. Relief for the Sick— 

Div. 1. General Hospitals 

Div. 2. General Dispensaries ._ ._ 

Div. 3. Special Hospitals, Dispensaries and Associa- 
tions, also Homes for Convelescents 

Div. 4. Hospitals and Homes for Incurables 

Div. 5. Women's, Children's and Lying-in Hospitals and 
Women's and Children's Dispensaries ._ 

Div. 6. Training Schools, Homes and Agencies for 
Nurses 

Div. 7. Visitation of and Diet and Aid for Sick in In- 
stitutions 

Div. 8. Medical Colleges, Schools and Societies 

Div. 9. Ambulances 

Totals 

Class V. Relief for the Defective — 
Div. 1. Relief, Homes, Asylums and Societies for the 
Blind 



16 


1 


1 


39 


13 


2 


60 


18 


2 


115 


29 


5 


35 


29 


2 


39 


38 


1 


60 


16 


1 


12 


4 




38 


8 




21 


11 


1 


7 


1 


2 


33 


15 




14 


16 


1 


259 


122 


8 



245 



Classified List. 



Manhattan Bklyn. 

and and Rich- 
Bronx, Queens, mond. 



57 


12 


4 




19 


4 


12 


3 


35 


7 


49 


3 


55 


15 


110 


23 


12 


9 


41 


12 


51 


8 


33 


10 



311 



23 

10 
4 
2 



Div. 2. Relief, Homes, Asylums for Deaf Mutes 8 

Div. 3. Relief for Cripples, including Hospitals, Homes 

and Societies 21 

Div. 4. Relief, Asylums and Schools for Insane, Feeble- 
minded and Epileptic 16 

Totals 

Class VI. Treatment of Delinquent Adults — 

Div. 1. Reformatories for Men 

Div. 2. Reformatories for Women 

Div. 3. Probation Work, Prison Associations and So- 
cieties of Crime 

Totals 

Class VII. Preventive Social Work — 

Div. 1. Savings and Loans 

Div. 2. Beneficial Societies _ 

Div. 3. Education and Special Training 

Div. 4. Improvement of Social Conditions 

Div. 5. Settlements 

Div. 6. Clubs 

Div. 7. Libraries, Reading Rooms and Museums 

Totals 

Class VIII. Supervisory and Educational Work — 
Div. 1. State and Municipal Boards and Departments.. 
Div. 2. Private Associations for the Improvement of 

State and Municipal Institutions and Departments 

Div. 3. Conferences of Charities and Correction 

Div. 4. Special Training in Social Work 

Totals 39 



There are also 653 churches of different denominations in Manhattan and The 
Bronx; 479 in Brooklyn and Queens and 68 in Richmond. In addition there are 167 
Societies for Religious and Moral Work in Manhattan and The Bronx, 42 in Brook- 
lyn and Queens and one in Richmond. 

Summary of Report of School Feeding Made by the Department of Child Hygiene 
OF THE Russell Sage Foundation. 

The New York School Lunch Committee reports the following as a part of the 
results of an investigation of the home conditions of 262 children that have come under 
its observation: A large part of the children were adjudged to be suffering from mal- 
nutrition by a Medical Inspector of the Department of Health. 

In 221 families, 21 mothers worked outside the home and were not at home to 
prepare the noon lunches. This represents 9.5 per cent, of the mothers. This cor- 
responds fairly well with the result of another investigation made at School 51, 
where it was found that 200 or 10 per cent, of the children had no one at home to 
prepare a noon lunch for them and in consequence were getting their lunches on 
the street or in the small stores in the neighborhood of the school. 

In 258 families there were 60 which had no prepared lunches at noon for the 
children, or 21.2 per cent, of the families. Of the families of 130 children taking the 
lunches at school, 48 or 38 per cent, had no lunches available for them at home. 

The daily food supplied to the children was estimated approximately from da^-^. 
given by the parents or caretakers of the children. In 222 families 157 were supply 
ing insufficient food. This represents 71 per cent, of the families under observation. 
Of 141 children taking the lunches at school, 108 or 11 per cent, had insufficient food 
at home. This estimate was also supported by noting that the children in this group 
fell below the weight gained by the children with sufficient food at home. 



246 

The use of tea and coffee among school children is the greatest dietary abuse. 
The following table shows the findings for 226 children. 



Per Cent. 



Tea or coffee once each day 131 58 

Tea or coffee more than once each day " 79 35 

No tea or coffee 16 7 

Another indication of the home conditions, casting some light upon the difficulties 
of the mothers in the matter of providing sufficient food for the children is found 
in the study of the room congestion as noted in the table following. 

Per 
Families. Cent. 

1 person or less per room 

1 to 1.5 persons per room 

1.5 to 2 persons per room 

2 to 2.5 persons per room 

2.5 to 3 persons per room 

Over 3 persons per room 

Total 

Taking $825 as the necessary yearly income for a family of five to maintain itself 
in an adequate manner, the following table shows another reason for the malnutrition 
of the children under investigation. The included data represents only that which is 
complete, and no figures are included that do not represent the total earnings of the 
family as far as could be secured from the family. 



17 


8 


47 


22 


63 


29 


39 


18 


38 


18 


13 


6 


217 





Per 
Families. Cent. 



Income over $16 per week 53 36 

Income under $16 per week 93 64 

Total 146 

Of 106 families, whose children were taking the lunches at school, there were 11 
families or 75 per cent, whose income fell below the desired $16 per week. 
The 146 families fell into the following income groups : 

Per 
Families. Cent. 

Income over $25 

Income $20 to $25 

Income $15 to $20 = 

Income $10 to $15 

Income $8 to $10..' 

Income under $8 



16 


11 


19 


13 


22 


15 


51 


35 


14 


10 


24 


16 



Of the 106 families whose children took the lunches at school, 38 or 36 per cent, 
were in the $10 to $15 group; 11 or 10 per cent, were in the $8 to $10 group; 24 or 
23 per cent, were in the under $8 group. 

The benefit of a single school lunch has often been questioned, but the investigation 
of the effect of such lunches upon the weight of the recipients shows very well the 
benefit to the children. While two groups of children of about equal size were under 
observation, the records were not as complete as desirable; the children had moved, 
remained subject to the observation such a short time or were absent too long to 
keep in the class for the period covered by the two observations of data, where 
measurements were required. For these reasons, one group who received lunches 
numbered 143, while the second group which received no lunches numbered 81, as 
far as the completed records were available. The numbers are not large, but the 
results of the examination are very suggestive of the value of the school lunches. 



247 



Table Showing the Degree of Underweight Among the Children Suffering from 

Malnutrition. 



Number 

of Mal- 

Average Average nutrition 

Number of Weight, Weight, Cases at 

Acre Children Pounds, Pounds, or Above 

"^ ■ ■ Malnutri- Normal Average 

tion Cases. Children. , Normal 

Weight. 

5 years 4 StI 41 10 ' 

6 years 17 40.5 45 3 

7 years 31 42.8 49 5 

8 years ' 41 48.9 54 6 

9 vears 60 53.7 60 13 

-■••■• :::::::::: i tS i \ 

14 years':::::::::::::..: 4 63.0 99 

15 years 2 77^ J^ •■• 

Total "262 ...■ .... 44 

Still in an investigation of 210 malnutrition cases, found that 175 had tea or 
coffee once a day and 25 had it two or three times a day. 

Spargo reported that of 12,800 children in 16 schools, 2,950 or 23 per cent, went 
to school without breakfast or with merely bread with tea or pofifee. 

Dr Lechstrecker found 9.32 per cent, of 10.707 children in New York Industrial 
Schools suffering from malnutrition. He noted that only 1,855 or 17.32 per cent, had 
an adequate breakfast. , ^^ . , ^ ^ , i i cc ^ 

The average cost for a family of five in the United States for alcohol, coffee, tea 
and cocoa for the years 1903-1907, was $95. , , i , -,, j ^< 

Of 391 famines studied by Chapin, only 25 per cent, used bottled milk and 66 
per cent, used loose milk in all the income groups up to $1,200. 

Of 318 families, 243 or 76 per cent, made expenditures for alcohohc drinks at 
home; 125 or 39.3 per cent, showed an annual expense for this purpose of over $30. 

A study of typical families in Washington, D. C, showed that 25 per cent, of the 
total income is spent for bread and meat, and this amount is 60 per cent, of the entire 
food budget. „ . , 

The general average of the families studied by Chapin showed that 8.3 per cent, 
of the yearly income was spent for sugar, tea, coffee and condiments, and 6.8 per 
cent for alcoholic drinks. There was only 21.5 per cent, of the income spent for 
eggs, milk and cheese. There is little difficulty in understanding why 82 or 19.5 per 
cent, of Chapin's 218 families were found to be underfed. 

Chapin found as the result of his investigation that there was a large amount 
of underfeeding among the families of all income groups. 



Families. 



Per Cent. 
Underfed. 



to 

to 

to 

$900 to $1,100. 
Over $1,100 



25 
151 
73 
94 
48 



76 

32 

22 

9 



The above table shows the amount of underfeeding in the various income groups. 

The New York Committe on Physical Welfare found 41 per cent, of malnutrition 
in the classes of children coming from families with an income of less than $16 per 
week 

In New York City in 1906, of 78,401 children examined, 4,921 or 6.3 per cent, were 
suffering from malnutrition, sufficiently pronounced to be noticed by the inspector. 
In 1908, ni 219j585 children, 5,923 or 2.8 per cent, were reported as cases of malnu- 



248 

trition. During the same year, in Manhattan, of 89,951 children, 3,678 or 4 per cent, 
were reported as suffering from malnutrition. 

Washington, D. C, showed 727 ill-nourished children examined to be suffering 
from malnutrition. 

The great various differences existing in the figures for malnutrition in different 
parts of the country are due to a variety of causes as personal equations of the 
examiners, different standards of living, and the fact that malnutrition is stated as a 
defect only when no other defect will account for "the condition of the child. Many 
of the defects, asanemia, enlarged glands, etc., are also cases of malnutrition, but are 
not included in that column. 

In an endeavor to ascertain the percentages of malnutrition in the schools sup- 
plying the children for the study on lunches, a special medical examiner looked over 
957 children in Public School 21, and 1,094 children in Public School 51. 

In the former he found 130 and in the latter 153 children with malnutrition, a 
total of 283 or 13.3 per cent of the 2,051 children under the close scrutiny of the 
examiner. 

Superintendent Maxwell's 10th report states that 60 per cent, of defectives suffer 
from malnutrition. 

The school lunches provide a means of off-setting the lack of proper nourish- 
ment at home. The amount of food units or calories supplied by the lunches is based 
upon an estimation of the average of the children at 10 years, and the estimation of 
the daily caloric needs of children of that age at 1,680 calories. The school lunch 
aims to supply at the minimum one-fourth of the day's caloric needs though it generally 
supplies over one-third and often one-half of the daily caloric needs of the child, as 
can be seen upon examining the menus provided with the statement of the caloric 
values attached. 

A charge of 2 cents is made for each lunch provided. 

In those cases where the parents cannot afford to pay for the lunch, the cost is met 
by relief societies or by private philanthropy. The City pays for the lunches provided 
to the children in the special classes for defectives. 

The following is self-explanatory. 

Public School 21, number of lunches served during 1909, 31,287 (23,235). 

Public School 51, number of lunches served during 1909, 22,884 (23,235). 

Public School 21, average daily attendance at the lunches, 162 (149). 

Public School 51, average daily attendance at the lunches, 119 (121). 

Public School 21, cost of food per capita, $.0326. 

Public School 51, cost of food per capita, $.0242. 

Public School 21, average cost of lunch served, $.0429. 

Public School 51, average cost of lunch served, $.0489. 

A previous table has called attention to the gain in weight of the children taking 
the lunches. At Bradford, England, the especially poor children were given three 
meals a day. 

During the first two weeks the average gain of the children was one and one- 
fourth pounds. At Whitsuntide the children were at home for two weeks and during 
this period, when they were having only the meals at home they made an average loss 
of one pound. 

The causative factors in malnutrition in children lie largely in the home. They 
are a complex, interwoven series of facts, each of which is important in completing the 
picture of malnutrition. 

Poverty, alcoholism, poor hygiene, physical defects of children, lack of dietary 
training, extravagance in the purchase of foods, domestic waste, lack of maternal 
care, employment of the mothers outside the home, lack of training in cooking and 
household economics. The high cost of food to those who buy in small quantities is 
an added factor in the cases of the very poor families. The use of tea and coffee 
among children is a general factor in the causation of underfeeding. 

1910. 
Public School Luncheons, Financial Statement. 

Periods covered by this report: September 13, 1909, to June 30, 1910; September 
13, 1909, to June 29, 1910. 

P. S. 21. P. S. 51. 

Number of Days Lunch Provided 193 182 

Expenses. Expenses. 

Food Material $843 69 ^666 50 

Wages of Cook and Services 384 25 348 70 

Furnishings and Miscellaneous 114 86 94 19 

$1,342 80 $1,109 39 



249 

Receipts. Receipts. 

Sales of Food Tickets $476 49 $617 40 

Sales of Penny Desserts 268 16 156 97 

$1,044 65 $771 37 

Deficit for 193 Days ^^^VoL ^^In ?«n 

30 Checks Sold 25.883 20.580 

Statistical Analysis. ^ ^ 

P. S.21. P. S.51. 

Total Paying Attendance (193 days) 24,187 14,088 

Lunches for Services 2,702 2,304 

Free Lunch for Needy — 

1. Malnutrition Cases • ■ 2,481 4,86b 

2. Just Needy Cases 1.917 1,627 

Total number served 31,287 22,884 

Daily Average Paying Attendance 125 .32 73 . 4 

Total Daily Average 162 119 

Daily Average Expense $o.y5/ z?'ii? 

Daily Average Deficit $1,545 $1,761 

Average Cost per Lunch per Day -0429 .0484 

Average Income per Lunch per Day .0334 ni^? 

Average Deficit per Lunch per Day .0095 .0147 

Cost of Food per Capita 0326 .0242 

Cost of Services per Capita 01598 .0202 

Cost of Furnishings and Miscellaneous .0038 .0042 

Free Tickets $131-94 $194.76 

Report of the Committee on Public Squares and Buildings of The New York 
City Commission on Congestion of Population, Alderman James J. Mulhearn, 
Chairman. 
The Committee have held three meetings and examined a number of vvitnesses. 
It was the Committee's intention to prepare a map showing in detail the specific loca- 
tion of existing public squares and buildings and to make suggestions as to the loca- 
tion of future public squares and buildings. In view of the fact, however, that the 
Committee have had no appropriation to make such a study and that the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment plans to create shortly a Commission to make City 
plans for the City, the Committee wish merely to make certain general suggestions 
with reference to the decentralizing of the life of the City, and to point out the prin- 
ciples which in their judgment should govern the locating of New pubUc squares and 
buildings. The creation of civic centres in various cities of this country and abroad 
has been increasingly recognized as an important part of the City plan. The most 
conspicuous illustration of such civic centres is the grouping of plans of the City of 
Cleveland, which recently created a Committee composed of three members, who 
have been given absolute power over the location of all public buildings. Their plans 
include the laying out of a mall, headed by the United States Post Office, the Custom 
Office and a new City Hall, while Buffalo has also been planning ^ civic center by 
grouping public buildings, as have also Chicago, Washington, Baltimore, St. Louis, 
Milwaukee, Minneapolis and many small cities of the country. The main features 
in this plan have been the groupings of these public buildings to_ ensure aesthetic and 
harmonious settings and convenience of access between the various public buildings. 
Federal, State and Municipal. Most of these cities, however, differ uniquely from New 
'Yo»k city in that they have not the' five distinct boroughs, each with a certain degree 
of home rule and independence of action, while in addition to the grouping of public 
buildings there has been made an effort in many of the cities to group around a com- 
mon centre, public buildings other than administration buildings referred to such as 
school houses, libraries, and similar place of concourse. Many better parallels, how- 
ever, for New York City are to be found in the cases of London, Paris, Berlin Vienna 
and Munich among the important cities of the world. Thus London has 27 boroughs, 
each with its own administrative building and other public buildings._ Paris has in 
each arrondissement a small grouping of public buildings, while Berlin, Vienna and 
Munich, although boasting a splendid central group of public buildings such as the 



250 

Ringstrasse in Vienna and the Square in Munich, yet have the decentralizing influence 
of a large number of smaller groups of public buildings. 

In the plan for Greater Berlin, by which it is proposed to enlarge the area of the 
city by about 461,000 acres, provision is made for these civic central points, each with 
its group of public administration buildings, and they are located in relation to the 
developement of the city and the existing factory, business and commercial districts. 

It is true that New York Citj'- has a unique situation since each of the boroughs 
is composed of small formerly independent political communities. With the enormous 
distances of the City, however, it is especially necessary that the City should provide 
a number of these buildings for local administrative purposes. The method of ad- 
ministration has, of course, an important bearing upon the question of civic centers 
and the location of public squares and buildings, since if there is a larger degree of 
local autonomy a larger part of the business with the City can be conducted in each 
of the boroughs than if it were necessary that a person wishing to attend to official 
business should come to Manhattan from all of the other boroughs of the City. The 
grouping, however, of public administration buildings will also have an important 
bearing upon the locating of business and the creation of shopping, office and com- 
mercial centers, so that the location of these centers should be determined very care- 
fully before the projection of new lines of transit and in relation to the existing devel- 
opment of the boroughs. In large boroughs like Queens and Brooklyn it would seem 
advisable to have sub-stations of various departments such as the Department of 
Health, in several sections of the borough and avoid the time inevitably spent in coming 
to and from these centres. 

The Committee feel preeminently the importance of a definite city plan in which 
these public squares and buildings shall be provided for and recognize that such a 
plan must be made by a central governing body of the city instead of following any 
whims or local interests or prejudices. The only recommendations therefore that your 
Committee have to make are as follows : 

Recommendations of the Committee on Public Squares and Buildings. 

First — That a city plan be prepared for New York City by the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment Engineers with such help as they shall require, at the earliest pos- 
sible moment ; such plans to be manndatory upon the City. 

Second — That there shall be in each Borough at least one large place reserved for 
the Public Administration Buildings of the Borough, such as Court House, Borough 
Hall, Board of Health and other departmental offices of the various City Departments, 
which shall be reasonably accessible to all the Boroughs and especially. to the existing 
commercial, financial and business districts. 

Third — That in the larger Boroughs there should be a series of sub-civic centres 
and groupings of Administration Buildings. 

Fourth — That there should be in each Borough an effort to group the public build- 
ings, such as school houses, libraries and similar buildings, with the exception of 
fire stations, so far as possible in a park or with open ground around so as to give 
adequate setting and stimulate local interest and pride. 

Fifth — Although the Committee recognize that provisions for Municipal Recre- 
ation Play Centres with enclosed buildings is not immediately feasible, they feel that 
the City before long will undertake such provisions and urge that they should be made 
part of this centre. 

Sixth — The Committee endorse the principle of excess condemnation of land for 
acquiring sites for these buildings in outlying Boroughs, although questioning the 
feasibility and practicability of such excess condemnation where land values are at 
present extremely high. Not only may this lead to the location of new settlements, 
but in some cases it will provide for the cost of improvements. 

Eighth — The Committee recommend that all developing companies and individuals 
should be compelled to plot out their land in accordance with the City map. 

Ninth — The Committee recognize that the Mayor's Art Commission has certain 
authority in the City, but call attention to the fact that they can merely withhold their 
approval from any public building on public land and that the City has in the past in 
several instances secured sites for pubHc buildings and then have been compelled to 
abandon them because the plans were not approved by the Mayor's Art Comimission. 

Recommendations of the Committee on Crime and Delinquency of the New York 
City Commission on Congestion of Population, Alderman W. Augustus Shipley, 
Chairman. ] 

The Committee has held three meetings and examined six witnesses. Various in- 
vestigations have been suggested to them as to the bearing of the question of rela- 
tions between crime and delinquency and congestion and room overcrowding. It has 



251 

been impossible, with the means and time at their command, to make such investiga- 
tions as the importance of the subject requires, but they nevertheless feel, after hear- 
ing the evidence presented, that more important than a study of the police records and 
the statistics of the Court of General Sessions and the Special Sessions, as to the last 
address given by those convicted of the various crimes, would be a study of the home 
conditions of those convicted of crime and juvenile delinquency. 

The Double Problem. 

The Committee have had a double problem to investigate — that of crime and the 
relation between so-called criminals over 16 years of age, and that of delinquency, or 
the shortcomings or moral failings of juveniles under 16 years of age, and congestion 
and room overcrowding. They have studied this question from the point of view of 
the home surroundings, as known of both classes of so-called criminals and juvenile 
dehnquents. 

The City's Crime as Serious as the Criminal's Crime. 

Nearly every witness who has appeared before the Committee has emphasized 
that the home surroundings of both the criminal and juvenile delinquents and the 
bad housing conditions, the lack of parks and playgrounds, the poverty and sickness 
of the families, have been among the most important, if not the most important, fac- 
tors in fostering and producing immoral conduct of both criminals and delinquents. 

The Committee feel very strongly, therefore, that the City is equally as guilty as 
any criminal who has been arraigned in Special Sessions and decidedly more so than 
any juvenile delinquent, because the City has permitted conditions to continue through- 
out many sections of the City which are largely responsible for the criminality of the 
children and often of the adults. . These conditions the City could have and should 
have prevented. 

Mr. Orlando F. Lewis, Secretary of the Prison Association of New York City, 
who appeared before the Committee, stated that 60 per cent, of the men sent to 
Elmira are from New York City, and most of them from the congested districts, 
and that although one cannot state definitely that this is due to congestion, it is 
true that the conditions of congestion and overcrowding predispose to crime. Mr. 
Lewis stated that the result of the present methods of dealing with vagrants and 
drunkards in New York City is not calculated to reduce the number of vagrants. 
The principal objection to the Municipal Lodging House is the fact that there is 
no obligatory work test and that many men remain three days and under certain 
circumstances and in many cases longer, without giving any return to the City. He 
stated that there is a population of at least 20,000 floaters in the 90 lodging houses 
in the City, which average 125 beds each, and that there are at least 5,000 or 6,000 in 
the lodging houses in Brooklyn, while there are many thousands who sleep in the 
streets, parks, etc., so that the total number in the City is perhaps 40,000. Mr. Lewis 
urged the endorsement by the Commission of the proposed Farm Colony for New 
York State to accommodate 600 men, the maximum committment to which should 
he not over one and one-half years for the first offense. Mr. Lewis stated that the 
most serious result of congestion in relation to delinquency was to conduce to crime 
due to the overcrowding in rooms, and he felt that it was not possible to control con- 
gestion and overcrowding in rooms without a closer supervision. 

Mr. A. Bullard, Agent for the Prison Association, stated : 

"I find it impossible to separate congestion, poverty and immigration. The ■ 
poor and the immigrants live in the congested districts, and both poverty and recent 
arrival in new and strange environments are handicaps to the struggle for existence, 
and increase the temptations to crime. My observations would lead me to say that 
at the very least 75 per cent, of our City crime originates in the congested districts." 

He submitted data showing that a good many of the men who are sent to 
Elmira come from overcrowded rooms, but stated that he had not established any sta- 
tistical relations. He emphasized especially the overcrowding of individual homes 
which might and does occur in many partially settled districts, as follows : 

"Of all the manifest relations between congestion and crime, that which has 
struck me the most forcibly is in regard to offenses against public morals. The lack 
of proper play spaces for children forces them into the evil contacts of the gutter. 
The lack of parlors in the homes of the poor forces the growing girls to meet their 
men friends outside, often clandestinely. The presence of strange men boarders in 
the overcrowded homes of the congested districts has a notoriously bad influence, 
and prostitution in the tenement houses is perhaps the most disintegrating of all the 
evil concomitants of congestion." 

Juvenile Delinquency. 

Mr. Ernest K._ Coulter, Clerk of the Children's Court of New York County, 
stated that congestion is responsible for a vast number of the cases that come to 



252 

the Children's Court of New York City, since environment counts nine-tenths in the 
whole proposition of juvenile delinquency, and that the bad environment of conges- 
tion has been responsible for the trouble of most of the 80,000 children who have 
been brought into the Juvenile Court since it was started. (Mr. Coulter has been 
connected with the Court since it has been founded.) The room overcrowding Mr. 
Coulter ascribes largely to the poverty of the families. He emphasizes the bad features 
of this overcrowding on the physique of the children and, hence, upon their morals, 
as also of the unsanitary and dark rooms in which they are living, and stated that 
there is little space in their rooms for the children day or night, unless they are put 
to work. The most skillful pickpockets in New York City are children. The employ- 
ment of children in the tenements is a serious problem and should be prohibited, while 
the high rents require the labor of practically all members of the family, even chil- 
dren of five years of age are working for blood money. Mr. Coulter suggested that 
the number of factories in a given district should be restricted and that the names 
of the real owners of every tenement should be put on tenements. He remarked 
that "seldom do tenement owners themselves complain of congestion because they know 
the greater the crowd the greater the rate of rental that can be charged." To the 
following statements of Mr. Coulter careful attention should be given : 

"There have been little children brought to Court on charges of no proper guard- 
ianship suffering from syphilis contracted from these lodgers. Only recently a case 
came to the attention of the courts where a thirteen year old girl had strangled her 
baby, of which one of the lodgers in the house was the father." 

Cost to the Community. 
Mr. Coulter reported that the cost to The City of New York was $5.62 each 
time a child is arraigned in the Children's Court of New York County, and that this 
is about one-seventh of the per capita cost of the child's education for one year. 
When a child is committed it costs the City at least $120 for the maintenance of each 
child in the institution and there are about 1,800 children annually committed to the 
institutions, making the total cost approximately $216,000 for each year they remain, 
while of course the wretchedness and suffering of families and of the children par- 
ticularly, is vastly more important than the money cost to the City. 

Statistical Evidence of the Results or Congestion. 

Mr. Coulter stated that the 39th Police Precinct contributed most heavily to 
the arraignment of children in the Children's Court of New York County.. This 
precinct is bounded on the south by 96th st., on the west by Central Park and Lenox 
ave., on the north by 116th st., and on the east by the East River. The total popula- 
tion of this precinct is approximately 220,000, out of a total population this year of 
2,762,522 in Now York City (Manhattan and The Bronx), the population is therefore 
approximately 8 per cent, of the City's population, while the precinct furnished 12 
per cent, of all the arraignments in the Children's Court on general charges and 9 
per cent, of the arraignments because of improper guardianship. This district, of 
course, is rapidly becoming congested and includes what is known as "Little Italy." 
The 9th Precinct furnished the third highest number of arraignments. This is 
bounded on the south by Division st., on the west by the Bowery, and on the north 
by Houston st., and on the east by CHnton st. and Norfolk st. It has a population 
of approximately 130,000, or slightly under 5 per cent, of the population of the county, 
while the arraignments on general charges of this precinct were 7 per cent, of the 
total for the City and the arraignments on charges of no proper guardianship were 
5^4 per cent. 

Miss Julia Richman, Principal of School 56, stated that she would ascribe all 
the evils of child life on the East Side to three main reasons : 

First — Inefficient parenthood. 

Second — The absolute lack of respect that children have for their parents and 
lack of authority that parents have over their children. 

Third — The economical conditions under which they live. 

Miss Richman admitted that overcrowding is a most serious factor, and she 
instanced numerous cases which have come to her notice of the result of the demoral- 
ization of children due to personally observing the relations between the father and 
the mother inevitable with the overcrowded conditions of the home, especially when 
lodgers are taken in. Miss Richman thought that there was more accidental prostitu- 
tion than direct prostitution as the result of this overcrowding. She stated, however, 
that the prevalence of the push cart on the East Side is a roost potent and continual 
source of crime by tempting young children to steal. Miss Richman declared that ade- 
quate provision of parks and playgrounds shottld be made where the boys, especially, 
could work off the surplus of animal spirits and urges that Sunday baseball be permit- 
ted as safeguard for the children of these districts. Miss Richman also called attention 



253 

to the large number of widowers with children to support who could not get any one 
to care for them and therefore kept the oldest child out of school in order that she 
might look after the other children.. Miss Richman advocated the careful but tactful 
enforcement of the law against overcrowding and felt that the City should, at 
whatever cost, see that these people had decent accommodations rather than the over- 
crowded rooms in which they are now living on account of destitution. The part 
time evil in the schools is particularly bad for children over 8 years of age since they 
need the supervision and control furnished them in schools during the number of 
hours provided for in a full day of schooling. Miss Richman advocated that the 
City should furnish a meal to children at noon for three cents, under careful super- 
vision so that if any child could not afford to pay the money it could be furnished 
the meal without any charge. 

Miss Maud E. Miner, Secretary of the Probation Association, who has been fof" 
several years a probation officer herself stated that she laid Crime and Delinquency 
particularly to three causes : 

First — The sweatshop home. 

Second — The deserted home. 

Third — The overcrowded home. 

The sweatshop home is often due to the poverty of the family, all of the members 
in the home taking in work in order to earn enough for the family to subsist. She 
stated that she know of many cases where young children were going to school and 
working until 12 o'clock at night in these sweatshop homes and then from 12 until 
1 o'clock studied their lessons. She advocated a system by which the deserting hus- 
band should be made to work and what he earns given for the support of his wife 
and children. 

Overcrowded Rooms. 

Miss Miner instanced a case of a woman being arraigned for vagrancy where 
she had been plying her trade in the same house with a mother and her children; the 
mother, of course, simply wanted the money and did not realize the effect of such 
conditions upon her children. It is impossible to maintain sex decency when it is 
permissible for nine people to live in two rooms, men, women and children all 
huddled together in these two or three rooms, and it is very harmful for the children 
to spend their time on the streets, but there is no other place for them to go to. 
Many of the moving picture shows on the East Side are very injurious to the morals 
of the girls, not merely because the pictures shown are bad, but the balconies and 
aisles are dark and the girls sit beside immoral men, who often inveigle them into 
immorality. It is true that a great many girls now support cadets, and Miss Miner 
stated that this is largely due to the congested conditions of the work places, the 
homes and the play places. There are men in the congested districts that have five 
and six girls working for them as prostitutes. It is extremely difficult to convict 
such cases. Many of the girls working in the factories do not earn more than $4 
and $5 per week, most of them in unskilled trades, few of them are skilled and find 
it impossible to rise, many of them are below par mentally. Miss Miner stated that 
instead of developing more parks and playgrounds at present, that those in the City 
now should be under better supervision, to protect the children from loafers and 
immoral men who frequent these places. Miss Miner thought that less overcrowding 
would relieve the moral conditions, especially if the taking in of boarders was pre- 
vented. 

Recommendations of the Committee on Crime and Delinquency. 

Your Committee therefore make the following recommendations : 

Since the present Tenement House Law permits nine people, seven children and 
two adults or four adults and three children, to occupy an apartment of three rooms, 
this law should be amended to prohibit the occupancy of so few rooms by so rnany 
people. The Law should be enforced, as there is no pretense of enforcing it at 
present. As it stands upon the statute book to-day it is absolutely a dead letter. 

First — The Committee recommend that the requirements as to cubic air space in 
apartments be increased to 600 cubic feet for each adult and 400 cubic feet of air 
space for each child over 12 years of age, that this law be vigorously enforced by 
placards in the apartments stating the number of people that are permitted to 
occupy the apartment, and that the owner or his responsible agent be required to 
ascertain how many tenants are to occupy the tenement when it is being leased, also 
that the lessee be required to register the fact with the owner of the tenement or his 
responsible agent when he is taking in a lodger. 

Second — The Committee recommend that no lodger be permitted to occupy a 
room with a child over 12 years of age of the opposite sex. The Committee appreciate 



254 

that this is a law difficult to enforce, but the frightful results of failing to prevent 
these conditions has been amply demonstrated before your Committee. 

The Committee recommend that tenement house manufacture be prohibited, or if 
that is not possible, that no manufacturing be permitted in tenements in which there- 
are children and that the manufacturer be held responsible for the places in which 
his goods are being manufactured. 

Fourth — The Committee recommend that more playgrounds and places of recrea- 
tions of a more wholesome kind be provided for, and more coreful supervision of the 
existing playgrounds, parks and recreation centres. They feel that the City could' 
wisely conduct places of recreation under proper supervision themselves, where they 
do not exist at present. 

Fifth — In view of the inevitable injury to children of the overcrowded conditions 
of city life, the Committee recommend that restriction on the height of tenements in 
outlying districts should be enforced. 

Sixth — Since poverty is one of the' principal causes of overcrowding and the 
consequent delinquency, the Committee recommend that relief be given where neces- 
sary to the families who are now living in congested districts by the City itself, their 
renioval, however, to better quarters being a condition of their receiving such relief. 

Seventh — The Committee recommend that the Department of Education be urged 
to arrange talks for mothers on the danger to their children of permitting them to- 
occupy the rooms with lodgers, the values of such talks having been referred to by 
several of the speakers before your Committee. 

Eighth — The Committee urge that more physical exercises be provided for chil- 
dren in the Public Schools and that the City should immediately take steos to elim- 
inate entirely part-time by providing adequate teachers and rooms for the total 
attendance at the Public Schools without overcrowding the rooms. 

Nmth — -fhe Committee recommend thau steps be taken to have the dark and 
insantiary rooms occupied in many ot the tenements vacated and kept permanently 
vacated. 

Tenth — The Committee recommend that the principle of the City Farm Colony 
be extended and that instead of maintaining an institution in the crowded sections 
of the City, other adults or children who are in need of relief, that they should be 
taught agriculture and gardening in institutions similar to the present Farm Colony. 

Eleventh — The Committee recommend that in the congested districts of the City,, 
where it is possible, that the streets be closed at certain times so as to permit the 
children to use these streets as playgrounds. 

Summary of Foreign Methods of City Planning. 

The most important features of city planning in foreign countries which have 
been suggested, in substance, are as follows : ... 

First — Proper housing of the city's masses for a reasonable proportion of a lair 
wage, and within easy access of their work. 

Second — -Direct and adequate roads connecting the main business centres of a city 
with smaller roads of such width and construction as not to impose an unnecessary 
and burdensome cost upon the occupants of small houses. 

Third — A proper system of water supply and sewage disposal, pipes and con- 
duits for wires. 

Fourth — The economic location of factories and prohibition of factories in dis- 
tricts where they will be an injury to the neighborhood, and, as a necessary corollary,, 
provision of means of carrying freight. 

Fifth — The elimination of the cost of carfare, as far as possible, to the work- 
ing population. 

Sixth — The decentralization of the city's business, pleasure and educational dis- 
tricts and interests. 

Seventh — The provision of adequate parks, playgroimds and open spaces, with- 
space for public buildings, to furnish not merely sites but settings. 

Eighth — Such control over the location and volume of buildings^ for manufac- 
turing and office purposes as will enable the city authorities to anticipate and pro- 
vide adequate means for carrying passengers. 

Ninth — The control of the development of new and unbuilt sections of a city,. 
and the incorporation of adjacent areas so that their development may similarly be 
controlled. 

In addition, however, one must note the instances of a remarkably eflFective 
exercise of the police powers of the State known as the Lex Adickes. Under this 
law, enacted by the Prussian Diet in 1902, either at the instance of a majoritv _o£ 
owners of over half of the area of irregular and uneconomic plots, or on the initia- 
tive of the city itself, these lots may be thrown into a common pool and redistrictedL 



255 

so that each lot shall be of the greatest value for use. This seemingly arbitrary 
requirement that the owner shall not be permitted to corner a district and render the 
economic use of a plot impossible is carefully safeguarded and constitutes a strong 
argument for utilitarianism on strictly economic grounds. The redistribution is 
carried out by a commission, consisting of two commissioners of the Provincial 
Council and at least one building expert, one lawyer, one certified surveyor and 
one further expert. Up to 40 per cent, of the land to be redistributed must be 
ceded to the city free of charge; for any amount exceeding this the city pays, but 
the law plainly states : "The redistribution is to be undertaken for the advantage 
of the public." The ground for streets and open places is separated from the total 
beforehand, and the remainder, in the form of regulated plots of land, brought 
in, in the report. Every owner receives land located as nearly as possible in the 
same locality as his original holding. The value of the building land apportioned 
must at least equal that of the old plot, otherwise the difference in value is to be 
made good to the owners in money. In the same way, compensation is made for 
buildings, market gardens, nurseries and the like which have been taken. If the 
redistribution takes place on the motion of the local authorities, the streets created 
must in general be available for public use within four years. Under the opera- 
tion of this law in Frankfort nearly 250 acres up to 1909 had been redistricted, and 
many handsome private and public buildings constructed thereon. The municipal 
authorities at Frankfort summarize the advantages of this method of creating 
usable land out of irregular hodge-podges : "The erection of buildings of an 
uneconomic and unhygienic kind is prevented, and the future inhabitants are 
protected from unfit dwellings. The property of every party interested is improved. 
Misshapen streets are avoided, the streets being made from the first in continuous 
lines; long enduring traffic difficulties are cleared away, and consistency in the ex- 
tension of the city is rendered feasible. The market for the building lots is enlarged 
and harmful speculation is thwarted. Thus the redistribution of town land, with its 
tendency to a healthy reform of land ownership, deserves to be placed beside the 
many expedients for the, at the root, fundamental dwelling question." Similar legis- 
lation has been enacted by other States of the German Empire, notably by Hesse, 
Hamburg and Baden, and also by democratic Switzerland. Under the Badenese law, 
however, the ground for public roads is purchased by the city, and this expenditure 
is made good to the community by the parties concerned only when the building 
operations have commenced. 

It is customary in German, Austrian, Swiss and English cities for the local 
authorities themselves to prepare the plans for the city. The exact methods by which 
these plans are prepared vary from city to city. Sometimes they are developed by 
the building department, sometimes by the city engineer or by an official in charge 
of the transit lines of the city, which are usually owned by the city — a valuable asset 
in securing an economic city plan — but always the city engineer has the chief charge 
of the plans. 

The following summary gives the procedure under the New Town Planning Act 
of England : 

"The Procedure Regulations of the Town Planning Act. 

"Made by the Local Government Board under section 56 of the Town Planning 
Act, and dated May 3. 1910. 

"Outline. 

"1. Resolution of borough or district that they are prepared to consider a pro- 
posal to prepare a scheme or to adopt one prepared by landowners. 

"Notice of such resolution to be given within seven days to anv council interested 
in the land. 

"2. A large scale 'Map No. 1' of the projected scheme to be deposited at a place 
convenient for public inspection. Copies of the map to be furnished to every council 
any part of whose land is included. 

"Notice of the projected scheme and of the deposited map to be inserted in 
newspaper, and served on owners, lessees and occupiers of land included in the 
scheme, and to councils any of whose land is included, and to the county council if 
a main road is affected. 

"3. Consideration of representations made in writing by owners and others in- 
terested in land included in or affected by the scheme, also by urban and rural coun- 
cils affected — conference thereon. 

"4. At least one meeting, summoned by fourteen days' notice, of all interested. 

"5. Not less than two months from service of the notices mentioned in para- 
graph 2, the promoting council passes a resolution to apply to the Local Government 
Board for authority to prepare or adopt the scheme. 



256 

'•6. The resolution is sent to the Board, together with : 

"(a) A large scale 'Map No. 2,' indicating the extent of the land comprised 
in the scheme, which parts of it are already built upon, which parts are not 
likely to be used for building, and defining the jurisdiction of the various councils 
affected. The map must also show existing buildings, highways, roads, sewers, 
pipes and mains, and also projected roads and open spaces. 

"(b) A declaration that the necessary notices have been served, etc. 
"(c) A small scale 'Map No. 3,' showing the surrounding country to a distance 
of five miles. 

"(d) A copy of objections not withdrawn. 

"(e) A general description of the scheme, particularly in relation to existmg 
conditions. 

"(f) Estimated cost of the scheme (1) to the promotmg council, (2) to any 
other council interested. 

"If the scheme is promoted by landowners, then : 

"(g) Map No. 2 must indicate the proposed sewers, pipes, mains, etc., and the 
following information must_ be furnished : 
"(h) Council's observations. 

"(i) Names and addresses of persons interested in the land, whether statutes 
or by-laws would be infringed by the scheme ; whether purchase of lands by any 
council is contemplated; information as to probable claims for compensation, and 
particulars of such claims by promoting landowners ; estimated betterment. 
"7. Notice of application to the Board must be given in the local press. 
"If the board now authorize the council to prepare or adopt the scheme, the 
further procedure is as follows : 

"(a) Notice to be given as in paragraph 2: (1) That the board has made the 
order; (2) that the council proposes to proceed; (3) that persons desiring to 
make objections or representation must do so in writing within twenty-one days. 
"(b) Hearing by the council of objections and representations. 
"(c) Preparation and printing of draft scheme by the council, with large 
scale 'Map No. 4,' indicating, in addition to the matters comprised in Maps 1 and 
2, details of proposed roads, pipes and mains, and particulars of the type of 
buildings to be erected on various portions of land, i. e., the purpose of such 
buildings and any restrictions as to their height or number to the acre. 

"Or, alternatively, adoption by the council, with or without modification, of 
the scheme prepared by landowners, and printing of the same, with Map No. 4, as 
above. . 

"(d) Notice as in paragraph 2 of council's intention to finally adopt and 
submit the scheme to the board, and deposit the scherne, maps, etc., for public 
inspection, together with notice that the council will consider objections and repre- 
sentations made in writing within twenty-one days. 

"(e) Meeting, to which all interested are summoned by fourteen days' notice. 
"(f) Not less than one month from giving notice of their intention to do so, 
the council may, by resolution, finally adopt the scheme and submit it to the 
Board, together with : 

"(1) Maps similar to the No. 4 series, but finally rectified and called 'Maps 
No. 5.' 

"(2) A declaration that the necessary notices have been served, etc. 
".(3) A small scale 'Map No. 6' of the district in which the scheme is 
included, and showing all open spaces, elementary schools and other buildings. 
"(4) A large scale 'Map No. 7,' giving names and estates of owners of land 
comprised in the scheme. 

"(5) A copy of objections not withdraw. 

"(6) All particulars specified in articles VIII. and IX. (see paragraph 6) 
and certain other particulars. 
"(7) Estimated cost. 

"(8) Local acts, provisional orders, by-laws and regulations in force in the 
various districts included. 

"(g) The council give notice by advertisement that they have submitted _ the 
scheme to the Board, that copies are available for inspection and that objections 
and representations may be made to the board within one month. 

"(h) If the Board propose to modify the scheme, they will send the draft 
order to the council, who must notify all concerned that any objections to the 
modified scheme must be made to the board within a month. 

"(i) The draft order of the board finally approving the scheme will be pub- 
lished in the 'London Gazette' and notice^ given in the local press that any person 
may object by writing to the board within twenty-one days. 



257 

"(k) When the order of the board approving the scheme has been made, the 
council must give notice in the local press and also notify all concerned. 

"(1) The board may vary or dispense with any of the regulations other thar. 
those required by the act. H. C. DOWDALL." 

Information and Suggestions Regarding Congestion of Population and Methods 

OF Preventing Congestion in German Cities. 

Submitted by Mr. Otto David. 

1. With few exceptions there are no statistics giving the density ot population per 
acre by districts and blocks, in German cities. There are statistics giving the size 
of the cities or their population which may give a picture of the density of these 
cities. 

2. About the distribution of population in relation to living quarters, that is : 
number of rooms ; the large cities maintain statistical offices, which besides the gen- 
eral taking of the census prepare such statistics all the time. 

3. In connection with the various laws about the use and condition of living 
quarters, there are in existence chiefly three systems of inspecticin : 

(a) Volunteer inspection, as an honorary office. 

(b) Professional inspection by paid officials. 

(c) Inspection by the co-operation of both in connection with so-called Wohnungs 
Kommisionen (Housing Commissions). 

The first sj^stem, which is used for instance in Hamburg, has proven 
itself to be insufficient. No headway can be made without the co-operation of the 
professional element ; where there is a thorough housing inspection, we have to deal 
everywhere with a more or less forceful co-operation of the professional element. 
In fact the general inspection at the present time is performed by a police officer 
of a building department and in many places very good results have been obtained. 
We do not find the co-operation of professional and volunteer inspection very often. 
In the city of Strassburg this co-operation has worked the best. The co-operation of 
volunteer elements in these cases has the advantage, that houseowners as well as 
tenants make the execution of orders more easily possible, if plain civilians participate 
in giving these orders. In general, the effectiveness of inspection depends upon how 
many facilities are at the disposal of the housing inspectors and its frequency and 
regularity in accordance with the official regulations. 

4. The authorities in Germany have vacated the overcrowded dwellings in only 
a very few cases. The majority of German cities having a deficiency of small dwell- 
ings, and as the occupied dwellings necessarily are occupied by families with a great 
number of children, who, anyhow, haxe hard work in finding suitable accommoda- 
tions, the result of vacating would be that these families would become absolutely 
shelterless. In cases of vacating dwellings, the department of public charity are 
required to provide shelter for families affected by such vacating. 

5. Private or public charities would have to be called upon only in very few 
cases of vacating dwellings where the activity of public authorities is not considered 
beyond what is stated under number 4 ; but charitable organizations exist in a number 
of cities, who put means at the disposal of families with a great many children, to 
help them in getting an additional room, for instance, a family of six with only 
two rooms, will be helped to rent three rooms. There are also organizations ta 
fight consumption which assist in procuring additional rooms. 

6. A statistical comparison of death rates in overcrowded rooms of tenements 
in congested districts is not common now though in former years such comparisons 
were made. It is necessary to be careful in using these comparisons, because a high 
death rate is caused, not only by bad housing conditions, but also by bad nourishment, 
long working hours and bad sanitary conditions in certain city districts, besides many 
other causes that may have an influence on the death rate. 

7. In regard to cubic air space, there are only figures, which give the area, that 
can be utilized for the buildings proper in general, factory regulations are left ta 
the state. Restrictions on factories are generally put only on such ones, become a 
nuisance to their surroundings. 

F. Statement Submitted by Mr. Frank Bailey, Vice-President The Title Guar- 
antee & Trust Co. 

There are three subjects I submit for your consideration: 

1. An alteration of the Tenement House Law so that three-story buildings may 
be constructed for three families on a basis of rental which will give a return on cost 
both to the builder and owner. 

Prior to the Tenement House Law, this class of construction was largely adopted 
in Brooklyn. The properties have always sold well ; they have been comfortable and 



258 

hygienic and have been a favorite class of investment on the part of the people 
with small sums. 

Under the new law, the tenants have had so much light and air and the cost of 
construction has been so great that these three-story houses are no longer feasible. 
They have been replaced by the two-family house, which requires a tenant to pay 
more money, and the three-story house caring for two families on a floor. 

2. The Tenement House and General Building laws of the City and the Regu- 
lations of the Board of Health should all tend towards making tenement house owner- 
ship more comfortable than it is, otherwise there can be no increase in tenement 
house construction for the account of decent owners. If the tenant throws garbage 
in the back yard, the tenant (not the owner) should be fined; if the tenant wastes 
water, it is the tenant (not the owner) who should pay. In other words, an entire 
change in the attitude of the authorities to the end that some of the responsibilities 
now assumed by others should be brought with great vigor upon the tenants. This 
change would produce better living upon their part, and would result in more tene- 
ment house construction of the best kind. Just as long as the attitude of our laws 
is one that produces tenement house ownership as only feasible in the hands of 
those who will use their efforts to dodge the proper statutes and regulations, in those 
who care nothing about the tenant excepting the amount of money which can be 
obtained from him — which class of ownership is bound to exist as long as there is 
as at present persecution of tenement house owners to the. extent nowv existing — 
just so long will there be a congestion proposition in New York City. 

3. An entire change of the Tenement House Law so that the requirements for 
the $3,000 apartments should not be the same as the requirement for the $5 per month 
flat. Many a poor tenant moves from the new flat into an old and inferior building 
because he cannot pay the coal bill necessary to heat the flat having an air shaft as 
great as the big steam-heated building. When this new Tenement Law was passed, I 
prophesied that the result would be congestion and a herding of people in large 
tenements. Whether that prophecy was true, I leave you to judge. 

I feel sure that there is no class of measures which will tend more to relieve 
congestion, and that, too, rapidly, than the fixing of responsibility for ^misdeeds of 
the tenant and allowing the construction of three-family houses on an economic basis 
in both the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and a tenement house law which 
differentiates the class of construction. 

The proportion of each block for uncovered area I take to be prac- 
tically the same as percentage of block covered, and for private dwellings, the present 
law provided that 90 per cent, of the lot area may be covered. What the actual condi- 
tions are I do not know, as I have never had occasion to look it up. As a general thing, 
however, new buildings being erected cover about the full 90 per cent. There are no 
records in my department showing these conditions as they actually exist. That would 
be a matter that could be determined possibly from the insurance maps, which show 
private dwellings as distinguished from tenements. They give these facts approxi- 
mately, within 5 per cent, or 10 per cent. On these maps blocks are drawn to scale and 
the houses are located to scale, though it is such a small scale thqt you can easily make 
errors in taking the dimensions as they do not give more than the width of the lot, 
but no information as to the shafts or size of the houses. You could only approxi- 
mate it. 

Mr. Chairman: Do you, in your plans filed, indicate just what percentage of the 
lot is occupied? 

Mr. Miller : They do not indicate it in that way. They give the dimensions of the 
house to be erected and the man who examines it or the plans sees that 10 per cent, 
of the lot is uncovered, that is in the case of private dwellings. We get the dimensions 
of the building and from that we figure to see that the uncovered area is provided, 
and our inspectors make the report showing those conditions, but if it is more than 10 
per cent, we make no note of it. We simply examine to see that 10 per cent, is left un- 
covered. In the case of buildings occupied in part for business purposes and in part 
' for dwellings, the entire lot may be covered in that portion of the building occupied 
for business purposes, so that we have a great number of buildings in which there are 
stores on the first floor and dwellings above where the entire lot area is covered in 
first and 90 per cent, covered above. 

Mr. Chairman: Do you find that the filling up of the entire area of thefirst floor 
would affect the conditions, and what effect would it have on such conditions to be 
changed? 

Mr. Miller: This is a matter of judgment. 

Mr. Chairman: Do you think some discretion should be allowed or lodged with 
the Superintendent of Buildings? . 

Mr. Miller : No, I think the law should say what shall be allowed m such cases 



259 



and he should see that the law is carried out. What shall remain uncovered _is_ a 
matter of judgment, and if it is to be based on anythmg, it must be based on statistics 
of some kind to show what effect this covered area has on the occupants. _ If the con- 
ditions throughout the block are such that in one case 2-stories_ are occupied by stores 
and only one story by stores in another, then it would have decided effect, ihe uncov- 
ered areas for warehouses and factories is not fixed at all, that is to say, warehouses 
and factories can cover the entire area. In office buildings there is a restriction ot 
10 per cent, if the building is not located on a corner, but there is no provision made 
as to how much or how large a corner lot is or may be. If the budding occupies the 
entire block no uncovered area need be provided because it is all corner building. 
Commercial conditions make it necessary, however, to provide some uncovered area 
to light the covered area. In hotels the restrictions are very severe. In the tall hotel 
buildings, say 20 stories high, the restriction is such that you cannot cover more than 
about M) per cent, of the lot area above the second story. For corner lots 98 per cent 
of the lot may be covered. But a corner lot is restricted to 3,000 square feet. _ F9r 
interior lots 10 per cent of the plot must be left uncovered for the first five stories in 
hei^^ht and 2^ per cent for each story above the fifth. As to the restriction of the 
hei-ht of buildings there is none except what the effect of uncovered area may be. 
Th?re is no law as to the height of buildings. Restriction as to cubage is the same 
thing. In my opinion the height of buildings should be restricted I think it is desirable 
from many standpoints. Just what it should be I am not prepared to say now. An opin- 
ion of that kind is influenced by a great many things and I must say that I change mine 
from time to time. Sometime in the future I shall be glad to state my judgment of that 
Doint And I shall be glad to submit to the Commission the recommendation I have 
made regarding the restrictions for uncovered areas. I submitted it to the Building 
Commission of 1907. As far as such restrictions are concerned, I do not believe m 
specifying a percentage. I believe in specifying certain definite reqmrements ; for in- 
stance! yards at the rear increasing in depth accordmg to the height of the building; 
also provisions that any courts shall have minimum sizes rather than fixed Per- 
centage, and that no living room or sleeping room shall be permitted that does not 
open to the outer air or Sn a court of the minimum dimensions. The _ present law 
does not provide anything regarding the rooms, except the excise law in regard to 
rooms of hotels. There is no specific provision as to ^he^f the uncovered area shall 
be left One of the Commissioners some time ago took the stand that it must De 
left at 'the rear of the lot, but he was unable to enforce it, and he was beaten m 
the courts, as in the Martha Washington Hotel which runs from street to street, 
where he insisted on the light court remaimng across the centre of the bmlding 
The courts, as I recollect it, decided that all the Commissioner could require was that 
the percentage of uncovered area should be provided and that the applicant was at 
liberty to place it where he saw fit, provided it secured light and ventilation to the 
building. Of course that was a matter of judgment, but so long as it secured li^ht 
and ventilation it could be disposed of as the applicant saw fit. There ^s "Crth ng 
specific about the location of the court. In other words, you could locate the court 
wherever you pleased, provided you left sufficient light and air. , t. „^ 

As to the demolition of unsanitary houses, of course, our department has no 
authority. It might be a good thing if we did have authority %'^'lZ%!nroi zonl 
structures. We have authority to remove unsafe buildings. The question of zone 
areas has never been taken up. No, we have no restrictions, except as to the form 
of construction, which, of course, does not make any difference to the question a 
issue here, whether it is fireproof or not. As to basement dwellings I believe all 
residence buildings should be treated alike. If a certam amount of light and ventila- 
tfon is necessary for the occupants of tenements, it seems that the same is necessary 
for the occupants of hotels and dwellings, and my view, on that point is expressed 
in this provision submitted to the Building Code Commission, that no living room 
or sleeping room should be placed in any building unless it has direct exterior ven- 
Sation There are quite a number of plans still filed for interior rooms, but very 
few interior unlighted rooms. But in this I am not covering tenement houses. We 
onTy pass on the ^construction of the tenements. I might say that there^ are very few 
private dwellings in Manhattan being constructed. There are as many theatres as 
private dwellmgs^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^.^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ rooms, I have also ex- 
pressed myself in those recommendations. There is at present nothing in the law 
Requiring certain area or cubage in rooms, except I think there m_ay be something in 
the requirements as to lodging houses. There is a charter provision as to lodging 

^""^Mr Chairman: Will you take up the question of cubage of buildings _ and the 
volume' of buildings, aside from tenements, as a means of restricting the intensive 



260 

use of land? Do you favor that system as the Mayor's Commission suggested, and 
to take into consideration the cubage and area of the lot in the restriction of build- 
ings? 

Mr. Miller: I do not think that is necessary, if we fix the minimum require- 
ments for yards and shafts and fix possibly the heights of buildings. In other words, 
the same might be effected by legislation. It is not the cubage we are after. We are 
after light and ventilation of the buildings for the occupants. In the second floor 
these have to have light and ventilation as well as those_ on the upper floors, and 
the shafts ought necessarily to increase in size. That will restrict the building^ in 
cubage, especially if you have a limit on height. You can accomplish the same thing 
by the cubage method, but it won't do to specify the height and cubage both to- 
gether, as one interferes with the other. The same thing about percentage of lot 
to be covered and the sizes of shafts and yards. You can accomplish the thing by 
either method, but I think that to specify the minimum of yards and courts is the 
better way because then we know we are getting the uncovered area in the places 
where we need it. 

Mr. Chairman : Do you think, from your knowledge of one or two-family 
houses, of which there are a few in Manhattan, it would be well to have the same^ 
provisions as for tenements? 

Mr. Miller: I do. I think occupants of dwellings are entitled to the _ same 
consideration as those in any other type of buildings. My view is that all residence 
buildings in which there are living rooms should be treated alike in that respect. 
But that is impracticable for certain reasons, as the tenement-house question is a ques- 
tion by itself, and it may be desirable, for practical reasons, to treat tenement 
houses a little differently than other types of buildings, but as a general proposition 
they should be treated alike. Sometimes more people are crowded into a two-family 
house than in tenements, such families taking lodgers. I will be glad to give you 
any suggestions that occur to me in addition in better form and in writing. 

Statements Submitted to the Committee on Factories. 
A. Statement Submitted by Hon. John Williams, Commissioner of the State De- 
partment of Labor, on Methods of the Department. 

He stated that the Department made inspections at least once a year of all fac- 
tories in New York City, and that the report submitted by the Deputy Inspectors 
carries information as to whether the factories inspected were located in any other 
place previously so as to determine whether they are identical. A_ comparison of 
statistics of the number of factories by boroughs would not be of particular value. 

Proximity of the labor market is an important factor in determining the location 
of factories. "There are about 26,0CO factories in New York City and 14,000 tenement 
houses licensed for tenement manufacture, making about 40,000 places to be inspected. 
There is a permanent force of 35 inspectors for New York City, but during the winter 
the up-State inspectors are brought down so that the number averages about 40 for 
the year. Last year officers of the Department visited 160,000 tenement apartments in 
New York City. The Department inspects every tenement in which there is an apart- 
ment used for manufacture. 

Mr. Williams stated that he is opposed to the idea of having a Bureau of_ Investi- 
gation or Mediation and Conciliation unpaid, since members rnust give practically all 
their time to the work of the Commission and could not do this on a volunteer basis. 
He doubted the wisdom of attempting to make investigations except upon complaint. 
When asked whether he thought manufacturing in tenements could be abolished in 
time, he replied that in his judgment this is not possible, but if the experience of the 
community proves that further regulation is needed this regulation can probably be 
secured. 

In answer to the question as to the best means of distributing factories Commis- 
sioner Williams stated that he had not given the matter much consideration and would 
wish to do so before making a reply, but suggested that it may be within the limits of 
the State's province to prohibit the establishment of a factory in a tenement above 
the first floor. He thought that an effort to prohibit the location of factories in Man- 
hattan by requiring space between tenements and other buildings was not feasible, as 
so many factory buildings have already been constructed without this provision. He 
stated in conclusion that as a means of regulating tenement house manufacture it 
might be possible to place upon the manufacturer the responsibility of seeing that no 
work is given to families where children would do any of the work. 



14.00 


14.70 


(1908) 


16.00 


17.63 


(1906) 


18.09 


19.12 


(1906) 


1.5.96 


17.69 


( 1909) 



261 

Death Rates in New York and Some Foreign Cities. 
_ The Department of Health of New York City have furnished the following sta- 
tistics of the crude and corrected death rates of a few cities : 

Death Rates per 1,000. 

Crude Corrected 

Death Rate. Death Rate. 

London ; 

Berlin 

Paris 

New York 

They also show that Boston's death rate corrected to New York standard is 16.3 
as compared with the New York rate of 15.96. 

E. Statement by Mr. G. E. De Palma-Castiglione, Manager, the Labor Information 

Office for Italians. 

1. Necessity of Regulating the Business of Taking Boarders or Lodgers Within the 

Limits of The City of New York. 

For foreign laborers who have their families here it is customary to take in their 
houses as boarders, or lodgers, those of their countrymen who are alone, or whose 
families have been left abroad. The number of laborers resident without families 
being enormously large, the business of taking lodgers is very profitable. The run- 
ners of such tenement apartments or lodging houses charge each lodger from $2.50 
to $3 per month. For this amount they supply (1) one place in a bed (changing linen 
every fifteen or twenty days) ; (2) fuel to cook foods and use of the family stove; 
(3) washing of the personal linen of lodgers. 

Hygienic and sanitary conditions in such tenement apartments and houses are 
deplorable, destructive of health and good morals. Families living in two or three- 
room apartments often have five or six lodgers who sleep together, two and some- 
times three in one bed. Such overcrowding absolutely prevents the possibility of 
boarders washing, bathing and taking the proper care of their bodies. Promiscuity 
of living often corrupts habits and causes sexual depravity. Contrary to the general 
opinion, on account of higher rents, conditions are worse in the new tenement houses 
than they were in the old ones. 

it seems advisable that your Commission consider the possibility of requiring all 
persons who take lodgers, whether in separate houses or apartments, to obtain a 
license which would be granted only after a proper inspection of the premises, and 
which would definitely limit the number of lodgers; all licensed houses to be under 
the inspection of the Board of Health and all licenses to be immediately revocable for 
just cause. Several other countries have such a law and in some, in Germany and 
in Switzerland, for instance, it is strictly enforced. 

2. The enactment of such a law as above suggested should be simultaneous with 
the opening of lodging houses where accommodations identical with those actually 
supplied by private lodging houses should be supplied at an identical price ($2.50 to $3 
per month). Such lodging houses should be built in the heart of the districts in- 
habited by immigrants. 

They could perhaps best be built and run by private individuals. The City might 
appropriate a certain amount to be given as subsidy or prize to the founders of such 
lodging houses. 

3. A. Compulsory Teaching of English to All Adult Residents of the City Who 

Cannot Prove that They Know the Language. 

Ignorance of English is the strongest barrier to the distribution of immigrants, 
and it is the main cause of their congested colonies. Foreigners, who do not under- 
stand English, feel lost when they are not surrounded by people who speak their own 
language. There are many immigrants who have lived for years in this City and 
liave never left the districts inhabited by their countrymen. 

An ignorance of English prevents foreign laborers from becoming acquainted 
with opportunities existing outside of the places where they live. 

4. Reduced Rate of Transportation on Cars, Elevated and Subway, from 5 a. m. to 

7 a. m. on All Working Days. 
This system has been in force for several years in some European cities, and 
it has produced some good results, inducing wage-earners to go and live in the less 
crowded districts. In several European cities during the two hours from 5 a. m. to 



262 

7 a. m. (and in some to 9 a. m.) the fare is as low as five centimes (a little less than 
one cent) per person. 

Colonisation as a Means of Cliecking Congestion. 

As long as the average wage of laborers employed in construction and mainte- 
nance work, either in city or country, is larger than the wage of farm laborer, it is 
of no use to make any effort to induce immigrants, who in their own country were 
farmers, to go and work on farms here as farmhands. But the alien farmer or farm 
laborer could be induced to go farming as farm owner. There are hundreds of farms, 
even in New York State, either abandoned or poorly cultivated, which can be bought 
at an average price of $10 per acre, buildings included. The price of some of these 
farms no more than covers the cost of their buildings. A large number of them 
may be purchased by making a small cash payment in advance (from $100 to $300), 
the balance in small installments. Immigrants are entirely ignorant of the existence 
of these farms. The Department of Agriculture of New York State issues now and 
then a list of farms on sale in this State, but owing to the fact that this list is pub- 
lished only in English, it is useless as far as the non-English speaking population is 
concerned. The Department ought to publish information of this kind in the principal 
languages spoken by the foreign population of the State, and list the descriptions of 
farms according to price. 

But even the publication of these bulletins in foreign language would not provide 
adequately for the instruction of immigrants in the agricultural opportunities existing 
in this State. A large number of the total number of immigrants, and almost all 
those who come from the agricultural districts of Europe, are either illiterate or have 
not acquired the habit and need of reading. Therefore the publication in foreign 
language of the farms for sale would be of limited use. The State, either through the 
Department of Agriculture or the Bureau of Immigration and Industries, ought to 
employ special agents who speak these foreign languages fluently to canvass or lecture 
ip the foreign quarters of our great cities, and thus inform the immigrant population 
of the agricultural possibilities here existing. Sub-agents paid on a commission basis 
might also be employed with advantage to induce immigrants to invest their earn- 
ings in farms on sale within the State. Such sub-agents should be recruited among 
those who are in close and daily touch with immigrants (bankers, steamship ticket 
brokers, grocers, etc.). "The Abstract of the Report of the United States Commission 
of Immigration on the Immigration Situation in Other Countries" illustrates the 
extraordinarily successful work that the Canadian Government does to induce immi- 
grants to settle on land. We quote from this report : 

"Salaried agents of the Canadian Immigration Department are stationedin Lon- 
Qon, Liverpool, Birmingham, York, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, Exeter, Dublin, Paris 
and Antwerp, and under their direction an extensive advertising campaign is carried 
on. Officially prepared circulars in several languages, setting forth the inducements 
offered by Canada to agricultural immigrants, are distributed in large numbers; 
similar advertisements are carried in newspapers and other publications which circu- 
late among the classes most desired; permanent exhibits of Canadian products are 
maintained in several cities, and travelling exhibits are sent to various sections of 
Great Britain and Ireland and to agricultural fairs and other exhibitions throughout 
the United Kingdom. 

"Another feature of the propaganda, and one which particularly indicates Canada's 
desire for immigrants, is the payment of a liberal bonus to several thousand so-called 
booking agents in the favored countries. These booking agents are for the most 
part local steamship ticket agents, and, theoretically, the bonus is allowed for the 
purpose of inducing such agents to favor Canada by directing thereto intended emi- 
grants who otherwise might choose a different destination. The bonus paid is £1 
($4.86) on each person 18 years of age or over, and 10s ($2.43) on persons between 
one and 18 years. In Great Britain it is paid upon tickets to Canada sold to British 
subjects engaged in the occupation of a farmer, farm laborer, gardener, stableman, 
carter, railway surfaceman, navvy or miner, and who signify their intention of fol- 
lowing farming or railway construction work in Canada. Female domestic servants 
are also included. A like bonus is paid on similar classes of immigrants from 
France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. During the 
fiscal years 1905 to 1909, inclusive, this bonus was paid on 16.5 per cent, of all British 
immigrants, and on 11 per cent, of all immigrants from continental Europe, admitted 
to Canada. 

"In England the Salvation Army is also utilized as an agency to promote emigra- 
tion to Canada, and grants of money are made to the army for that purpose. It is 
stated, however, that no immigrants are brought to Canada at the Government's ex- 
pense. 



263 

"The British press is relied upon as a factor in promoting emigration to Canada 
through news articles_ relative to the progress and advantages of the Dominion, and 
also through the publication of letters from persons who have settled there. British 
newspaper writers and other publicity agents are encouraged to visit Canada, and it 
is stated that much desirable advertising has resulted. 

"Some years ago Canada inaugurated the plan of sending agricultural delegates 
to Great Britain to supplement the work of regular immigration agents, and this 
proved so successful that the practice has been continued. 

"For many years Canada has regarded the United States as a desirable field for 
immigration effort. The propaganda here is conducted under the direction of an of- 
ficial designated as inspector of agencies and press agent, and general agents are 
stationed in sixteen cities. The efforts of these salaried representatives are supple- 
mented by a large number of agents, who are paid a commission of $3 per man, $3 
per woman, and $1 per child on bona fide settlers induced by them to settle in western 
Canada. During the fiscal years 1905 to 1909, inclusive, this commission was paid on 
5.6 per cent, of all United States immigrants entering Canada." 

New York State, it is true, has no free land to offer, but, as I have said, many 
of the farms on sale in New York State are sold for a price inferior to the cost of 
their buildings, while the Canadian homesteads consist of bare and unfenced prairie 
land. 

I feel satisfied that a systematic propaganda conducted on similar lines would 
induce many immigrants now living in cities to buy farms throughout the State. It 
is a fact that a large number of aliens who after some years emigrate from the 
United States buy land and return to farming in their own country. This proves (1) 
that there are many of our immigrants who have money in sufficient amounts to buy 
farms ; (2) that there are many immigrants who are really eager to devote themselves 
to agricultural work. 

Of course the number of immigrants who have money enough to buy farms is 
small in comparison with the total number of those immigrants who were farmers 
in their own country. A large number of those belonging to this class have not 
money enough to buy and equip farms and become independent. But the number of 
those having $200 or $300 is very large, and this amount is often sufficient to make 
the first payment on the purchase price of a farm, but it is not sufficient to stock the 
farm and oay living expenses until the first crop is marketed. This class of immi- 
grants could be induced to buy farms only by special inducements, such as that of 
paying the greater part of the price of purchase of the farm in installments after the 
crops are marketed, and of buying tools, stock and provisions wholly or partly on 
credit. Colonization companies working on such a plan would certainly appeal to a 
large number of this class of immigrants, and it would be worth while for the State 
to consider means of assisting the formation of such companies. 

Record of Number of Persons Placed by Largest Agencies for Distributing Population 
During 1910 in New York City, New York State and Other States. 

Organization. 

National Employment Exchange.. 

Hebrew Sheltering and Immigra- 
tion Aid Societv 

Civic League of North America.. 

Division of Information in the De- 
partment of Immigration 

^Industrial Removal Office 

Jewish Agricultural Industrial Aid 

Society 

New York State Department of 

Agriculture 

Labor Office for Italians 

Total 24.118 9.138 4.580 7.496 

The Commissioner of Licenses of New York Citv states that the contract labor 
statements filed by employment agents show that 24,925 men exclusive of farm hands 



Total. 


New 
York 
State. 


New 
York 
City. 


Other 
States. 




3,574 


1,591 


398 


1,585 


Period ending 
Sept. 30, 1910 


732 
3,834 




6S3 
3,499 


4Q 
335 


Nov. 30. 1910 

Oct. 5-Nov. 30, 

1910 


4,283 
3,504 


2.139 
247 




2,144 
3,257 


Year ended 
June 30. 1910 

1909 


343 


217 




126 


1909 


4.944 
2,904 


4,944 






1Q10 
1910 



264 

were sent out of the City, during the year ended May 1, 1910. 

*This Agency also granted (during 1909) 265 Farm Loans amounting to $141,- 
494.48; 56 of these were in New York State, amounting to $20,554.15. 

It should be noted that the year which the report covers ends at different dates 
during the year, and that there may be some duplication, while many cases are re- 
placements. The population of New York City increases from 125,000 to 140,000 a 
year. 

Statements Made ey Contractors on the Catskill xA.oueduct. 

B. These Stateinents Were Taken Down by a Stenographer, hut Speakers Have Not 

Revised Them. 

Mr. J. B. Goldsborough : Stated that they had at present about 2,500 laborers 
employed. 

Chairman : From your records, apparently, you average 270 working days a year, 
and 1,200 employees receive between $400 and $500 a year. I would ask whether, in 
your judgment, you generally pay or get the immigrants chiefly because they work 
cheaper? 

Mr. Goldsborough: We have to hunt considerably iri getting any at all. As 
regards the average wages, I should say that $400 is the minimum, the highest being 



Secretary : I notice that a good many of the immigrants you employ have given 
their address below 14th street. Do they keep their famiUes here mostly? 

Mr. Goldsborough replied that there were very few who had their families out 
on the works. A great many of- their families are in foreign countries. 

Chairman : They are trying to support a family, then, on $400' a year ? . 
Mr. Goldsborough replied that was equal to 20 cents an hour for eight hours. 
He further stated that there was much time lost in finishing and starting the jobs. 
As to the New York laborers, they would rather stay in town for less money than 
go to the country. 

Chairman: Cannot the attraction of the Bowery be overcome by good wages? 
Mr. Goldsborough replied that it was of no use to try and induce them to go so 
far from town. In fact, it was hard to get them to go up to the Croton Dam, and • 
unless even the foreigners had friends up there they would not go. The English 
speaking men do not care for the laboring jobs at all. If you offer more money to 
the English-speaking men, say $2 a day, they do not accomplish as much work as the 
trained Italians, in my opinion. If they do go for a little more they soon_ return to 
town. There seems to be very few Germans who are laborers. The foreigners are 
now beginning to do the contractor's work, and I believe that within fifteen years 
from now they will all be foreign contractors, especially in building construction. 
Every year there seems to be a large increase ; a few years ago there were none, 
but today they are growing rapidly. 

Chairman: Do you know how they are living? 

Mr. Goldsborough : There are none who are living in a room, but they are living 

in three and four-room cottages, these being the smallest. But a great many of tiie 

men take larger houses and keep boarders, as there are very few three-room houses. 

Secretary : How can a family with six or seven in the family live ; that is, do 

you consider the wages adequate? 

The ordinary laborer needs $2.50 or $3 a day, even the City recognizes the 
fact, and in the Boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn the men are getting from 
$2 to $2.50 for just ordinary laboring work. Mr. Goldsborough said the laborer's work 
such as can be seen along the aqueduct is done by men who are appointed by the 
Civil Service and have to read and write, so that a common laborer would not stand 
much chance to get on the list. The list, however, is good only for one year. 

Chairman: Do you mean to say that you think $1.33 a day is as good in the 
country as $2.50 in New York? The City is now paying $2.50 a day and may raise 
it to $3 in the Greater City. 

Mr. Campbell : There was an advertisement which appeared here last year to 
the effect that the Northern Pacific would pay $2.50 and $3 a day during the harvest 
season to all laborers. 

Mr. Goldsborough stated that if he could get the Americans he would rather 
have them, but that they were hard to get, and even at $3 a day, for eight and ten 
hours' work, the men were just as apt to go on a strike as the ones at lower wages. 
The next speaker was Mr. Nelson, of Messrs. Rhinehardt & Dennis Company. 
The Secretary asked if he was paying at the rate of $1.50 or the average of $1.75 
a day. 

Mr. Nelson: $1.75 a day is the average, but there are exceptions to that rate, 
some getting more and some less, as the case of shovelers, who get but $1.50. 



265 

Secretary: Your men work an average about how many days a year? 

Mr. Nelson : We have only had the work opened up since the spring, and they 
liave been working steadily since then. 

Secretary: Do you pay the colored people $1.75 a day? 

Mr. Nelson: Yes, most of them receive $1.75. We have been on two aqueduct 
contracts and in both instances we have tried to employ natives, but the trouble with 
the American is that one-half of the time he will work and one-half he will not, even 
though we are willing to pay him more. It hardly pays to take them from Njew 
York, for as soon as they make enough money to pay their way back they leave. We 
have paid them as high as $2 and $2.50 to set up forms and at laboring work of that 
kind. 

Mr. Campbell: Do you have any trouble in getting laborers? 

Mr. Nelson : We have had a great deal at certain times ; at other times we are 
flooded with them. 

Chairman: What times of the year are you flooded? 

Mr. Nelson : We had a hard time to get men in February and March and had 
to get a good many from agencies and pay $1 a head. By doing this we were able 
to keep supplied. 

The Chairman then asked if it would be of any advantage to them if the men 
came through a Municipal Emplojmient Agency. Mr. Nelson replied that probably 
not, as they would in all likelihood have men that would not suit the contractors, 
that is, in general they would not understand things. This trouble does not exist in 
the private agency. 

Through one agency we got some men in the City and agreed to pay them $1.75 
as tunnel laborers and paid their fares, but when they arrived they did not like the 
condition of things and returned to New York. Italians, Austrians, etc., are with you 
today and gone tomorrow. 

Chairman : Do you believe that if we could get some of the charities to send up 
some of the men they have that you could use them? 

Mr. Nelson replied that he thought not, as they had previously had some experi- 
ence in that line. Private charities support many families of able-bodied men who 
are temporarily out of work, but who are too lazy to work. 

Chairman: Could you use many of these men the year round? 

Mr. Nelson : We do not attempt to pay wages or keep the family the year 
round ; we pay them the prevailing wages, as our specifications call for, and find that 
the prevailing rate of wages is enough. 

Chairman: Are the natives paid the same as the immigrants? 

Mr. Nelson : The natives and immigrants are paid the prevailing wages of both. 

Chairman : Mr. Goldsborough stated that he believed $233, plus rent, per year 
was sufficient to support a family of six. Do you think the same? 

Mr. Nelson : I do think they are getting that little in many instances. Most of 
the men work every day. 

Chairman: Are you going to shut down in the winter? 

Mr. Nelson replied that the greatest part of their work would be going on most 
of the winter. They have eight different tunnels, and the 'w^ork in them, of course, is 
shoveling, etc. 

The next speaker was Mr. Whitmer, of the American Pipe and Construction 
Company. 

Chairman : Mr. Whitmer, we are desirous of getting as much information as 
possible regarding the skilled and unskilled laborers. A great proportion of your 
people, in the aggregate, are recently arrived immigrants, are they not? 

Mr. Whitmer: One hundred and thirty-seven of them have been here from two 
to five years and the balance over five years. 

Secretarv : What are the lowest wages? 

Mr. Whitmer: They are $1.60 to $2 a day. 

Secretary: Have you made any attempts to get laborers from the City? 

Mr. Whitmer : Yes, and they usually leave the next day, none of those which 
came from the charitable and labor organizations having stayed one week. The 
majority of them work only long enough to get sufficient money for their passage 
back. 

Secretary: The City does not have any trouble, does it, in getting workers? 

Mr. Whitmer : For the Rochester, Syracuse and Eastern Railway, 1,500 men 
were sent to Syracuse and Rochester on a Monday, and they left between Wednesday 
and Friday, and on Sunday a large portion of them left, most of them returning to 
New York. Within a week or so they had all gone, with the exception of 54 out of 
1,500 men. 

Chairman : The necessity for your taking immigrants is due to the fact that 



266 

you cannot get the laborers in New York City to do the laboring work outside of 
the City? 

Mr. Whitmer : I do not believe if you paid them $5 a day they would stay out 
of town. 

Chairman : Well, suppose we get the private charities to stop giving these men 
food, etc., would it help matters? 

Mr. Whitmer : I believe it would be the best thing, as then they would be com- 
pelled to work. I think that you will find that evei^y contractor has had trouble along 
this line. The men are offered steady employment for 26 days in the month. 

Chairman: Would you object to having our Commission refer these facts to the 
charitable organizations ? 

Mr. Whitmen : I would be willing, and in the spring, if you will send some one 
along to watch the laborers, I shall be willing to try as many as they can send up. 

The next speaker was Mr. D. O'Connell, of the Bradley Construction Company. 

Secretary: How many laborers do you employ? 

Mr. O'Connell : About 300. My experience along the line of securing them has 
been about the same as of the men who have just spoken. Immigrants would be 
paid the same as any other men applying for work. We have tried frequently to get 
men from New York, but without success. 

Chairman: Do you not think it is because the wages are too low? 

Mr. O'Connell: Well, at least the American could not live at that price. 

Chairman : What do you think a family of, say, five should have to have to 

Mr. O'Connell: Well, they could live on $1.75 to $2 a day. 

Chairman: Do your people get from $400 to $500 a year? 

Mr. O'Connell : The lowest rate is $1.75 for practically the year around, work of 
300 days in the year. A great many of the natives are getting from $2 to $2.50 a day. 

Chairman: What I want to get at is, if in your judgment the immigrants have 
not lowered the rates of wages generally. Do the immigrants live in more crowded 
quarters than the Americans? 

Mr. O'Connell: Not necessarily; the natives just simply do not seem to want to 
work. 

Chairman : Would you be willing to try this proposition as before mentioned, of 
giving the natives a chance instead of the immigrants if you can get them ; that is, 
if a body of natives is sent to you will you give them a trial? 

Mr. O'Connell : Yes, we shall be very glad to try them. 

Chairman : Suppose you paid $3 a day, do you think it would attract a lot of 
natives to work on out-of-town jobs? 

Mr. O'Connell: That is hard to say; with a great many, the more you pay 
them the worse they seem to be ; we have quite a few svich men, but they are not 
willing to work. 

Mr. J. J. Canney, of Messrs. C. W. Blakely & Sons, was the next speaker. 

Chairman : We shall be very glad' to hear anything you may have to say. 

Mr. Canney : We have at present about 300 laborers employed. 

Chairman: Your average rate is $2 a day, is it not? 

Mr. Canney: I think the average rate is $1.75, or running from $1.75 to $1.80 per 
day. 

Chairman : Have you any suggestions to make on any of the questions already 
asked? 

Mr. Canney : Nothing especially, except in conclusion I might say that I believe 
as long as these laborers have a group of people supporting them, the City of New 
York will have no one to do its manual labor. 

Secretary : Suppose these immigrants were all organized into a union and would 
not work for less than $3 a day, what would you do? 

Mr Canney: I suppose we would have to pay it. 

Chairman : Do you advance their wages at all after they have been with you for 
some timg^? 

Mr. Canney: We pick out certain men who seem more intelligent and raise them 
accordingly. 

Chairman: H you started out with about 300' men, how many of them would 
you have by the end of the year? 

Mr. Canney: Probably 100 of them would follow us from place to place; I 
think out of the 300 men which we employed over a year ago, at least one-half are 
still with us. A good many of the men are single. 

Chairman : Regarding the housing of these men, the law requires a certain num- 
ber of feet of air for each man. Is this strictly adhered to? 



267 

Mr. Canney : Yes, absolutely ; only two men are allowed in a room. Of course, 
the work we are now doing is going to last several years. 

Chairman : Do you think it would be wise to give these men a little social life 
and let them live in groups, carrying them a short distance to their work? 

Mr. Canney: It is pretty hard to transport the men for any distance; they pre- 
fer to have their camps near the work. The social life would aid, I suppose, some- 
what in holding the men. Conditions are, however, very much better today than 
they were during the past ten years. I would suggest that those men who want work 
come up and try it. 

Chairman : You are counting on single men ? 

Mr. Canney: Most of them are single, or have families in Italy. We now have 
more families than we anticipated. There is a big surplus of laborers in New York 
now of the skilled and the unskilled ones, and there are about forty contractors on 
this Catskill Aqueduct and each of them could probably use from 10 to 100 men 
more than they have, according to the size of their respective contracts. The major- 
ity of our men are kept working the entire year. But there are plenty of them who 
work a couple of weeks and then they pass up from one contractor to another. 

Analysis of Charities in New York City by Boroughs, 1907. 

It requires a Charities Directory of several hundred pages to describe the many 
societies of New York City. 

There were in 1907 46 societies to give relief by employment, but no Municipal 
Employment Office. 

There were 176 societies to furnish food, fuel, clothing and general relief, in- 
cluding transportation, 116 of them being located in Manhattan and The Bronx. 

There were 92 fresh air charities, 80 in Manhattan. 

There were two relief societies for national calamities. 

There were 80 societies for the relief of foreigners, an enormous majority of 
them in Manhattan and The Bronx. 

There were 55 societies for nursing and the care of the sick in their homes, 54 of 
these in Manhattan and The Bronx, also 12 relief burial societies, five-sixths of them 
in Manhattan. 

All of these reHef societies mentioned are classified in the Charities Directory, 
published by the New York Charity Organization Society under Care and Relief of 
Needy Families in Their Homes. There were 571 of those benefit institutions in this 
class in 1907, of which 475 were in Manhattan and The Bronx. 

There were 132 institutions to provide relief for Destitute, Neglected and Delin- 
quent Children, 93 again in Manhattan and The Bronx and 147 Institutions provided 
relief in permanent and temporary homes for adults, 115 located in Manhattan and 
The Bronx. 

There were 69 institutions for the Defective, with 87 in Manhattan and The 
Bronx, and an alarming total of 393 institutions for preventive social work, with about 
five-sixths in Manhattan and The Bronx; Brooklyn and Queens, however, have eighty, 
while Richmond has only three. 

The treatment of delinquent adults engaged the services of 42 institutions with 
the prominence of Manhattan and The Bronx again asserting itself with 35 ; 50 educa- 
tional institutions engaged in supervisory educational work are domiciled in New 
York, 39 of these in Manhattan and The Bronx. 

Some of these are, of course, national and international societies, but most of 
them are at least interested in work in New York City. 

There are also 653 churches of different denominations in Manhattan and The 
Bronx, 479 in Brooklyn and Queens, and 68 in Richmond. In addition there are 167 
societies for religious and moral work in Manhattan and The Bronx, 42 in Brooklyn 
and Queens and one in Richmond. 

A large proportion of these institutions, however, are getting help from New 
York City in the way at least of exemption from taxation, which exemption often 
amounts to many thousands of dollars. (Data secured from the Charities Directory 
published by the Charity Organization Society of New York.) 

Study of Tax Exempt Properties in New York. 

In 1906 the property of charitable and religious institutions exempt from taxation 
in each of the Boroughs of New York was reported by the Federation of Churches 
and Christian Organizations to be as follows : 

Manhattan $161,340,600 00 

Brooklyn 38,015,925 00 

The Bronx 14,534,850 00 



268 

Queens 3,819,675 00 

Richmond 3,415,000 00 

Total $241,126,060 00 

For the same year they report the value of City owned property for various- pur- 
poses as follows : 

Schools. ■ Libraries. Parks. 

Manhattan $38,274,000 CO $13,632,500 00 $314,785,500 00 

Brooklyn 15,984,220 00 595,800 00 68,645,650 00 

The Bronx 6,090,900 00 96,000 00 26,433,900 00 

Queens 3,573,100 00 75,000 00 1,296,000 00 

Richmond 1,406,175 00 43,500 00 20,000 00 



$65,328,395 00 $14,442,800 00 $411,181,050 00 



In 1906 the Federation states, "On the lower east side of New York live 15.1 per 
cent, of the entire population of the City. The percentage of the whole rehgious 
and charitable property of the City exempted from taxation located within that area 
is 5.7 per cent., while the school properties are 21.2 per cent., the fire department 
stations 18.6 per cent., the poHce stations 18 per cent., the park properties 8.8 per cent., 
the public baths 32.5 per cent., and the libraries 1.3 per cent. 

The following tables give the exempt value of land and improvements in 1910 of 
property of charitable institutions (including Blackwells Island, valued at $11,000,000), 
and a classification of institutions. 

List of Classes of Institutions Exempt from Taxation, Assessed Value in 1910. 

Classes of Institutions. Manhattan. Bronx. Brooklyn. 



Hospitals _ 42 2 21 

Dispensaries and Infirmaries 15 1 5 

Orphan Asylums and Homes for Children 18 7 5 

Day Nurseries 15 . . 4 

Settlements 13 • • 2 

Relief Society - 7 1 4 

Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children 1 . . 1 

Reformatories 4 2 2 

Houses for Adults ._ 10 ^ 1 10 

Children's Aid Society 1* 

Salvation Army 1 

Missions 4 

Lodging Houses 2 

Society to Protect Animals from Cruelty 1 

Miscellaneous 13 2 7_ 



*With branches. 

Exempt values in 1910 of charitable institutions, public and private, in Manhattan 
and The Bronx and sections of Brooklyn. 

Manhattan — ^^. ,^, ^^^ ^^ 

Land $31,121,000 00 

Improvements 21,967,850 00 

Total. .- $53,088,850 00 

The Bronx — ^^ _^^ ^^^ .^ 

T „„H $3,524,900 00 

^'^"'^ 9 QCA OflA (V) 

Improvements ^,s'jt,^uu uu 

Total $6,479,100 00 

Land^'°°^.^''"~. '.''..'. 2,509,250 00 

Assessment, Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, S and 9, improvements 5,888,100 00 

Total $8,397,350 00 

T^^,! $37,221,000 00 

Improvements"::::::::;:::::::::::::::::::::: 30744,300 00 

Grand total $67,965,300 00 



269 



The boundaries of the sections included in Brooklyn are: East River, Newtown 
Creek, Meeker avenue, Union avenue, Broadway, East New York avenue. Ocean Park- 
way, 9th avenue, 8th avenue and 60th street. 

Total Amount of Property of Various Institutions Exempt from Taxation in Man- 
hattan, The Bronx and Part of Brooklyn. 



Assessed 
Classes. Assessed Improve- Total As- 

Land Values, ment Values sessed Values. 



Orp^rAsylums and Children Homes. . . . $2,402,500 00 $1,219,500 00 $3,622,000 00 

Homes for the Adult Indigent 1,083,000 00 1,038,000 00 2,121,000 00 

Ref'rnitorfes .. ! 143.000 00 150,000 00 293,000 00 

Total $3,628,500 00 $2,407,500 00 $6,O36,0CiO 00 

Orohan^AsTlumT and Children Homes.... $1,986,600 00 $2,147,300 00 $4,133,900 00 

Homes for thridult Indigent 818,500 00 442,500 00 1,211.000 00 

Ref'Ltories'^.' .^^.^?^^ leJOOO 00 1,000 00 17,000 00 

Total : $2,821,100 00 $2,590,800 00 $5,411,900 00 

Orphan As5^u";;s and Children Homes. . . . $541,000 00 $631,000 00 $1,172,000 00 

TTrmiPQ for the Adult Indigent 415,900 00 613,900 00 1,029,800 00 

iToZitort ..Tr.... 83,500 00 11,700 00 95,200 00 

Total $1,040,400 00 $1,256,600 00 $2,297,000 00 

gt?S«l?n^£n"."°"^'::;; *g??:18^gS 1;»^ ^mZZ 

Reformatories . . .! !t 242-500 00 162,700 00 405,200 00 

$7,490,00 00 $6,254,900' 00 $13,744,900 00 

(Districts bounded by East River, Newtown Creek, Meeker avenue. Union avenue 

Broadway, East New York avenue, Ocean Parkway, 9th avenue, 8th avenue and 60th 
street.) 



r 



270 

The following table shows, the amount of rent that must be paid to net 8 per cent, 
shops, etc., with a given density of population per acre and with land of indicated 

Table Showing the Comparative Rent for a Year, per Family, on Land With the Given 
Paid for Stores, etc.) on an Acre, and Allowing Eight Per Cent. Net Return on 
Square Feet : 

$2 per square $3 per square $4 per square $5 per square 

foot, $5,000 foot, $7,500 foot, $10,000 foot, $12,500 

per lot. per lot. per lot. per lot. 

250 per acre............ $121 96 $182 94 $243 92 $304 90 

500 per acre 60 98 9147 12196 152 45 

750 oer acre 40 65 60 98 8131 10163 

1,000 per acre 30 39 45 78 60 98 76 22 



271 

on the value of land alone, and granting that one-eighth of the total rent is paid by- 
value per square foot. 

Density of Population (Counting Five to a Family and One-eighth of the Rent 
the Land With the Land Worth, per Square Foot or for a Lot Containing 2,500 













$11 per 


$6 per square 


$7 per square 


$8 per square 


$9 per square 


$10 per square 


square foot, 


foot, $15,000 


foot, $19,500 


foot, $20,000 


foot, $22,500 


foot, $25,000 


$27,500 


per lot. 


per lot. 


per lot. 


per lot. 


per lot. 


per lot. • 


$365 98 


$426 86 


$487 84 


$548 82 


$609 80 


$670 78 


182 99 


213 43 


243 99 


274 41 


304 90 


335 39 


121 96 


142 29 


162 61 


182 94 


203 27 


223 59 


91 49 


104 43 


121 98 


137 20 


152 45 


167 49 



272 

It will be noted that a land value of over $2 per square foot involves a rental 
on the basis, with a density of 250i per acre, of $121.96 per family of five for rent of 
the land alone, which is as much as a family with an income of $600 or less per 
year should spend on their total rent for a home, not a tenement. 

In other words high land values inevitably mean congestion of population among 
poor people — so that cheap land is essential to proper housing of wage earners and 
others with a small income. 

Land values in New York, however, have a capitalized congestion value, i. e., the 
land is valued on the basis of the rent that could be secured at a reasonable rent, but 
with a density of population who can pay only $150 to $200 rent per year of 
from 300 to 1,300 per acre in round figures, the latter being the ordinary maximum 
density per acre in a six-story new law tenement, fully occupied. 

Individuals Who Appeared Before the New York City Commission on Congestion 
OF Population and Subcommittees Thereof. 
Arthur Arctander, Charles Francis Adams, Stanley D. Adshead, Benjamin Brown,. 
Hugh W. Becker, John E. Bowe, Milton Butterfield, Dr. Henry W. Berg, Dr. Charles 
S. Bernheimer, Mr. Blockman, A. J. Boulton, Miss Mina M. Bruere, J. McKee Borden, 
Edward M. Bassett, Howard Bradstreet, Ernest Buckland, Major James A. Bell, Hon. 
William S. Bennet, W. Bretigan, Ernest K. Coulter, Gilbert Colgate, Mrs. Julius 
Henry Cohen, Mr. Cornwall, B. F. Cresson. Jr., L. P. Coleman, J. P. Coughlin, James 
L. Cowles, Charles N. Chadwick, H. C. Carrell, John Foster Carr, Contessa Lisi 
Cipriani, Hon. George Cromwell, Mr. Davis, E. P. Doyle, Dr Annie S. Daniel, Ira J. 
Ettinger, W. H. Fletcher, Mr. Foster, Mr. Furst, Adam E. Fischer, Homer Folks, 
George B. Ford, J. N. Francolini, Mr. Goodrich, Wm. Grier, John F. Geis, Dr. 
William H. Guilfoy, Frederic D. Green, A. N. Gitterman, James P. Gernon, Samuel 
P. Gompers, William B. Griffith, Hon. Robert W. Hebberd, Mrs. Julian Heath, Hon. 
Frederick C. Howe, WilUam E. Harmon, R. T. Haskins, James T. Hoile, Prof. 
Franklin N. Hooper, Dr. Hale, J. P. Harder, Frederick T. Hallock, Dr. John B. 
Huber, Frederick L. Hoffman, Colonel Henstreet, Dr. Woods Hutchinson, Luis 
Jackson, J. Harris Jones, Dr. Jaquo, James Jenkins, Jr., Miss Mabel H. Kittredge, 
Mrs. Florence Kelley, F. Kunzmann, Miss Frances A. Kellor, Dr. Abraham Korn, 
Orlando F. Lewis, Max S. Levine, Hon. Nelson P. Lewis, Edgar J. Levey, Dr. Walter 
Laidlaw, Alexander Law, E. C. Meurer, Rev. J. Howard Melish, Hon. Frank Mann, 
Dr. Henry Moskowitz, Hon. William H. Maxwell, Hon. John Purroy Mitchel,, Marcus, 
M. Marks, Helen Marot, L. M. Maguire, Hon. Rudolph P. Miller, Hon. John J. 
Murphy, Louis Marshall, WilHam I. Nichols, James J. O'Brien. Herbert O'Brien, 
Mrs. Ernest Poole, W. Frank Persons, A. C. Pleydell, Edward Polak, Josiah C. 
Pumpelly, John M. Paris, Henry Parsons, Dr. Wm. F. Pratt, Louis H. Pink, Dr. 
Wm. H. Parks, Wilbur C. Phillips, A. M. Prawl, Mr. Quinn, Dr. Jane E. Robbins, 
Miss Julia Richman, Maximillian M. Ruttenau, James R. Rourke, Mr. Robertson, 
Miss Grace Strachan, Robert Seelar, J. M. Schumacher, Mrs. I. Schwerin, A. H. 
Spencer, Joseph Seff, Abe Schoenfield, Prof. Edwin R. A. SeHgman, Mrs. V. G. 
Simkhovitch, I. N. Phelps Stokes, Dr. Albert Sudekum, Dr. Antonio Stella. Cyrus 
L. Sulzburger, Dr. M. Serrati, Prof. Henry R. Seager, Lajos Steiner, Max Thaten, 
Louis 1. Tribus, Arthur S. Tuttle, D. L. Turner, Frank E. Tilby, W. B. Vernam, Law- 
rence Veil'ler, Miss Mary Van Kleeck, Hon. John WilUams, Max Walinsky, George 
Wibbecam, Hon. Judson G. Wall, Miss Elizabeth Williams, Hon. William Williams, 
Delos F. Wilcox, Hon. Travis H. Whitney, A. W. Winter, Egerton Winthrop, Miss- 
Elizabeth C. Watson, Prof. C. E. Winslow, Morris D. Waldman, Miss Lillian D. Wald.. 









REPORT 

OF THE 

NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION 

ON 

CONGESTION 
OF POPULATION 



Transmittecl to the 

MAYOR and THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN 
FEBRUARY 28, 1911 



NEW YORK: 

LECOUVER PRESS COMPANY 

No. 51 Vesby Strbbt. 

1911. 



:^^ 



